


Cold Currents

by JacketBones



Category: Horrortale-fandom, Swapfell - Fandom, Underfell - Fandom, Undertale, underswap
Genre: Circus, Eventual enemies to lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluffy, Found Family, Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers, I've been told it's cute, M/M, Multiple Love Interests, Other, Second Person, Underwater, gender nuetral reader, kidnapping (kinda), lot's of sans, mermaid, mermaid au, swapfell (red) - Freeform, x Reader, y/n
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacketBones/pseuds/JacketBones
Summary: Trapped below in your own little world, unable to leave it even if you wanted. That's a little too close to home for a certain kind of people, especially of the bone variety. But what do they care?
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus(Horrortale)/Reader, Papyrus(Swapfell)/Reader, Papyrus(Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Horrortale)/Reader, Sans (Underfell)/Reader, Sans (Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (swapfell)/reader., papyrus(undefell)/reaader
Comments: 181
Kudos: 776





	1. Bubbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little exploration of the waters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone worried about this fanfiction, please note:
> 
> There will be no mention of skin color, hair color, hair texture, body size, body shape, eye color, eye shape, or gender in the reader. 
> 
> The only descriptor that will be used is that Y/n has hair. What the hair looks, feels, and behaves like will not be mentioned aside from being "fluffy looking" in water.
> 
> This X Reader is for all. Any idea of what Y/n looks like is entirely up to you, the reader.

“ _ My world, I think, is beautiful. Your world I have not seen yet _ .”

Some people's lives are lovely. Some live their years among the flowers and under the sunshine, but frown, because the some that want the sunshine to themselves wilt the meadows for the sake of inhospitality.

Some are cast into darkness and must stumble their way through. But they grin and laugh and lead the others they bump into because they know the stars are still shining somewhere, even if they do not shine upon them.

How does one know they are lonely if they have never been taught the symptoms? 

The sand in the deep sea is full of different forms of life. The things sprouting from seemingly nowhere, having no regard for the currents of the water or the clashing colors they presented. 

One in particular seemed slightly more… fluffy, than most. It danced slightly with every shift in the tides. Usually, a very appealing hiding place for the various forms of fish that found it.

One such fish, small and easy to hunt, swam back and forth through it, eventually resting inside. This fish was grabbed immediately by the strong arm that burst from under the loose sand, and unfortunately discovered that the sprout was instead a head of hair half buried in waiting. 

You shook off the rest of the rocks from your body, shaking your tail a little extra to avoid any sand in your scales. You looked over at the prey you had trapped, desperately trying to wiggle free in your grip. You let it go without a thought, watching it swim in circles as far away from you as it could perceive. You might have eaten it if it were bigger, but you were mostly just doing this out of boredom. 

Waiting was easier for you than it was for most of the other creatures around you. You seemed to understand the most that waiting sometimes paid off. Besides the shrieking, bottle-nosed fish you would stumble across occasionally the same size as you. But they were strange, and you didn’t trust them.

But you didn’t have to wait much longer. You heard it before you saw it. The faint rumble of a boat gliding against the waves, coming straight for you. You didn’t know how you distinguished it’s sound from the other boats, but you did, and it paid off.

You spun and saw the purple and gold front of a ship, cruising to the spot you knew they would.

You darted upward, keeping pace with the small and shining ship. The rush of motor drove off everything that knew better, but you always rushed to greet it. The boat, anyway. Whatever crew might be on board had no idea of you, let alone the way you used them to your advantage.

The bubbling waves it created from it’s motorized end started tickling at the tip of your tail. You reached up and lightly scraped your overgrown nails onto the metal underside, letting it pull you along. 

Eventually, the motor quieted, and thuds echoed from the deck of the boat as the crew readied themselves. 

The ship slowly stopped. You dug your other hand into the hull to keep yourself steady. Now all you had to do was wait. 

Thumping from above. You had been doing this for long enough that you could hear the distinction between the footsteps. One was slow, and barely heard. It would disappear and reappear at opposite ends of the tiny ship, like it was too lazy to simply move the pair of legs it had been given. The other was fast, and constantly moving. It seemed to run back and forth the boat for no apparent reason, like it was making up for the others lack of movement. This one was commonly accompanied by a high pitched yelling, that you could even hear below water. Not that you could understand any of it.

The quick one was sprinting around like normal, the slow one seemingly milling about. 

Right on cue the huge, tarp netting fell into the water, sinking immediately. You began slowly flicking your tail in time to the motor starting up again, this time quieter and much less aggressive. 

The boat now was not a threat to the schools of fish that swam below it. You watched them swim together excitedly, no matter how many times you saw a school you always felt a surge of joy bubble up within you.

Suddenly the boat lurched forward, taking dozens of the fish along with it. You rushed towards the net, teeming with squirming life. Without any delay you threw your jaw into it, sawing with your teeth, tearing a hole in the thick lining. Several fish rushed for the new escape, but swam right into you. You caught two at once, one in each hand, and managed one more in your now free mouth. Latching onto them, you wasted no time as the net breached the surface. 

You propelled yourself downward, letting the murky sand at the bottom become clearer and clearer. You quickly turned and swam away, so low that your fin occasionally thumped against the coral. 

In seconds you reached your destination. Slightly farther than where you would normally burrow, but it seemed to be the spot that was least tampered with. 

A small ring of flowering pink anemone, big enough that you could dig a small hole in the middle if you balanced yourself against the current, but small enough that any fish that wanted in on your food would have to fight for it. You opened your mouth and let the dead fish fall to the pit in the middle, you took the two others and bit down at their gills, separating their bodies from their heads, then spitting them out into the water. The crabs could have them.

You let one headless body fall into the hole, but allowed yourself to relax in the nearby sand and tear into the other. It was quick, but filling. When all that was left was bone, you tossed them away. 

You exhaled, staring up at the distant surface reflecting the sunlight. The sun was in the middle of the sky, the warmest it would be today. The beaches would be crowded. 

Without a second thought, you flipped over and began your journey. Back the familiar path of seagrass and shells you dropped years ago to guide you. You didn’t need them anymore, but they were special, and became as important to you as the actual destination. 

You broke the surface and let the cold air clean your face. In the distance, just below the thrash of water against metal, you could make out two voices.

“ _ WHY  _ IS THERE A HOLE IN THE NET?!”

“i mean… it is a  _ net _ m’lord.”

“SILENCE. I’M TIRED OF ALWAYS PATCHING IT UP, THIS SPOT IS CURSED.”

You dove under the water before you could hear any more. 

Eventually the kelp and coral became more and more sand, and then the sand started getting closer and closer to the surface. In the distance dozens of pairs of legs jump and tread the water. You allowed yourself to get close, but not too close.

Silently, without drawing any attention to yourself, you broke the surface tension. After glancing around and checking to be sure no one had seen you emerge from the deep, you allowed yourself to relax and take in the familiar scenery. The beach of course, was littered with humans and non humans alike. The coast was pure white sand, freckled with stones and seaglass, then eventually some small underwater weeds.

Father back were forests of unseen trees, tall, unmoving and stern looking. Sometimes, the wind would carry the scent of unsavory sweetness, and a few sharp green needles that tasted the same way.

Then even farther, almost incomprehensible to you, were great mounds of grey. They stretched high into the sky, made up of what you could only assume was stone. At their peak they blocked the sun when it set, but the snow on top never melted. 

You swished your tail lightly to keep your torso above water. It was a good day, everything seemed clearer. And the people didn’t bother with you.

It was nice to just exist near others. 

You continued to watch the tourists romp and play. The ones in the water seemed to struggle, but they always had the most fun. 

Two tourists caught your eye, mostly because of the huge ball they were passing back and forth. One was tall, standing hunched over with a small, contented smile on his face.The other was much smaller, and bobbing around in a large blue ring. He seemed to be constantly moving, making up for the way the waves carried him along. 

The large ball they were throwing to each other was bright and colorful, but didn’t seem to have any effect on either of them when caught. When dropped in the water it didn’t sink. You wondered what it felt like.

They both clinked when they moved. Even from far off you could hear them clatter with every movement. Definitely family, or at least the same kind of person.

You looked away, still pondering them. Your eyesight was not the best, but they almost reminded you of the sunken whale bodies you’d find when you swam deep enough. By the time you reached them they were always picked clean. Long gleaming skeletons sticking together despite the test of time, you liked them. 

Yes, these tourists were definitely bone. But shaped the way the rest of them were. How exciting. 

Suddenly as you were thinking back to the last whale you had found, there was a soft punk from behind you and the ball landed in the water with a small splash near you. You looked back, wondering what they would do.

“UH OH.” The smaller, blue one said. “I THINK I HIT IT TOO HARD-”

“hey!” The tall one shouted, much quieter than the small one. “You mind getting that for us?”

“PAPY YOU CAN’T JUST ASK THAT! YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO GET IT YOURSELF!”

“i couldn’t if i tried bro.” They responded. “i don’t know how anyone can be that far out…” They mumbled, but you heard the sounds anyway. 

After a moment, the small one in the hoop gestured at the ball. “COULD YOU  _ PLEASE  _ GET THAT FOR US?” Even from so far away you could see his desperation. 

You confusedly waved your hands around. The small one seemed concerned. 

“i don’t think they speak english.”

This seemed to make the small one even more desperate. They flailed their limbs alarmingly in the water, apparently trying to move closer in their ring. “W-WHAT DO THEY SPEAK?”

The tall one shrugged. “spanish?”

The small one huffed, it’s eyelights frantically racing around it’s socket. “I… _ GORDO _ !” They stuttered.

“fat?”

The small one turned more blue. “I DON’T KNOW THE WORD FOR ROUND!”

You glanced from him to the ball bobbing up and down in the waves. It was theirs, and it was closest to you. Did they want it? Neither seemed well enough to swim far out, and you personally didn’t want them to try. 

Slowly, doing your best to keep your tail under the waves and hidden, you approached the ball. It slowled you down, but they weren’t making noises anymore, at you or at each other. 

You paddled your way to the ball, only pushing with your fin at the last second to complete the journey. The ball was even bigger than you had thought, you could barely fit your arms around it.

You pressed your cheek into it’s thin plastic material, and shimmied slowly to where they were. With every repressed swish of your tail you wondered how close was too close. After a minute you leaned over the ball to look properly, and decided you were close enough. You lifted the ball above your head and tossed it to the sky, readying yourself.

When it came back down, you threw your face forward against it. It bounced off your forehead, flying over the waves with ease. 

It spun through the air and smacked the tall one directly in the skull, right on target. It knocked him back, and he let himself fall into the waves. The small one didn’t seem alarmed, and when he had clumsily made his way over to the ball and had it in his hands once again, they just looked exasperatedly at the tall one, now floating carelessly.

They smiled awkwardly back at you. “THANKS!” They tilted their skull down, then back upright. You mimicked it, and they seemed more at ease. They turned their back to you, and in an instant you let your body sink below the depths.

Deeper and deeper. You let your fin curl slightly against the sand as you fell to the very bottom, letting the sunlight so far above you fade away. In the distance you could just spot the distinctly skeletal legs.

That was enough interaction for today. You would have to learn how tourists acted more properly, as you had a sneaking suspicion that you acted strangely. But even so, they didn’t sound like they thought anything was off. There were no screams, no violent attempts to get closer. A good interaction.

‘Thanks’ 

The word was short, and made your mouth move in an unnatural way. 

‘Thanks’

That meant they were grateful, right? You had returned the toy. 

‘Thanks’

A pretty word. 

  
  


...

  
The end of the day. The tourists went to their homes, wherever those were. Some much redder than when they arrived. The sun was large, and when it sunk below the far off summits the sky turned into an upside down rainbow, the farthest down you could spot the same color as your bottom half.

You clawed your way up a wooden pole onto the pier, just far enough into the water that your tail was submerged, but your top was not.

Resting your elbows somewhere above the tide, letting your lower half float weightlessly in the water, you always felt better. One of life's cheap joys, you thought. You were constantly searching for places where you could rest, besides the small burrows you make for yourself every night. The only other option was to swim so deep that the waves did little to move you. 

But you still preferred this. Deep in the water you couldn’t feel the sun on your face. 

Somewhere a seagull cried. You carelessly leaned your head forward and let it rest against the warmed wood. It didn’t make sense, but when you were like this, the water seemed… softer. The waves farther down the beach crashed against the rocks, but the more violent sounds blended into the gently moving water beneath you. 

At this time of day you could exist on the beach itself, enjoying the more populated areas when they were empty, but still usable. 

Between the laps of each individual wave against the piers wooden frame there was the echo of thumping from somewhere far off. You listened intently, like clockwork there was thump after thump. Although you could hear it clearly you knew it was far away. Whatever it was wouldn’t bother you.

As the thumping continued you vaguely wondered what it could have been. What lived on land? Seagulls? You had seen some larger shapes that didn’t look like tourists farther off, but what kind of creatures they were was beyond you.

The thumps made their way slightly closer. They were now accompanied by the soft crunch of sun dried wood and small pebbles. They seemed more familiar to you. Clearly not an animal, but something more person-like. The tourists that didn’t like the beach sometimes stayed in the forest, this was probably another one.

The thumping didn’t stop, instead getting steadily more and more clear. You listened and thought you heard something more. Distant, but still connected. ...Rattling?

“HEY!” 

The sudden shout was a surprise, and in your instincts you pushed off of the pier. Whatever they wanted to say, they didn’t want to say it to you.

You readied yourself for the change from lungs to gills, but suddenly you felt something wrap around your wrist and stop you completely. In your shock you gasped the wrong way, and started to choke. 

Your attacker yanked you up onto the pier with ease. After a moment you regained your senses and inhaled the air through your nose. You glanced up, ready to attack and swim away. 

Staring wide eyed above you, completely blue in the face, was the small tourists you had interacted with earlier. In their shock they still had the same strong grip on you, that you knew without any tests was too strong for you to break. 

An indescribable sound came from your throat, a mix between a gulls cry and whales song. His eyelights shrank and he dropped you, jumping backwards and stuttering out things even  _ you _ knew weren’t a language. 

Without warning the tall one was at the end of the pier, despite not hearing any sounds. 

“why’d you run off like that br- oh stars.”

“I, I-” The small one shouted, louder than they were earlier in the day. You were frozen, both never took their glowing eyes off of you. “I SWEAR PAPY, I, I TH-THOUGHT IT WAS BLOOD! I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS A-”

“ _ tail… _ ” The tall one was staring you up and down, unsure and curious.

You didn’t like it. You make another noise, this time quieter. But they both definitely heard it. It only seemed to make them more tense.

“what did it say?” The tall one murmured. The short one shook it’s skull, making itself clatter. 

“...IS THIS WHY YOU WOULDN’T SPEAK TO US?” They shouted, grabbing your hand again. It was gentler this time, but the sudden touch still made you prickle. “BECAUSE YOU’RE A… WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?”

“half human half monster?”

“IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?”

“i didn’t think so…” They said, crouching down to your level, inspecting you. You clicked your teeth together and mimicked his rattling. He seemed amused by this. “whatever they are, they got good ears.”

The small one seemed upset. “DO YOU THINK THEY’RE…  _ YOU KNOW... _ ?” They whispered the last part of their sentence, like it was unheard of for them to say out loud.

“i mean… they fit the description. it doesn’t speak english, or slime, or frog, i’m pretty sure.” They paused. “...maybe.”

You chirped at them. The tall one whistled back. You smiled, wondering if you had just communicated. 

“YOU MEAN MERMAIDS ARE REAL, AND THIS ONE HAS JUST BEEN HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT?” The short one asked, grabbing at your face with and looking you over worriedly. “YOU HELPED US EARLIER, REMEMBER? YOU GAVE US OUR BEACH BALL?”

“i don’t think they understand a word, bro.”

“WELL WHAT SHOULD I-”

“... _ bal _ ?” You said, after a moment's hesitation. It was a familiar word, though difficult to say. 

Their heads snapped back to you. The tall one seemed surprised, and the small one was grabbing your face more fiercely than before and got even closer. 

“YOU CAN  _ TALK _ ?!”

“...alk?” You repeated, feeling like it certainly did something. 

“NO,  _ TALK _ . TUH SOUND!” They shouted excitedly. “TUH,  _ TUH _ .” 

“ _ T _ alk…  _ Tuh _ .” 

The small one squealed and looked happily back at the tall one, whose interest seemed to have only grown. “PAPY LOOK! IT’S LIKE A BABY-BONES!”

“Bomes”

The large one squinted at you. “ _ bones _ kid. us, we’re bones.” He said. His glowing eyes began to shine. Duller than the other, but shine nonetheless.

The small one glanced at the other, smiling so wide you wondered if his face hurt. “STARS, THIS IS INCREDIBLE! IT’S LIKE A DISCOVERY, RIGHT?”

The tall one put his skeletal hand on his skull. “it sure is… stars, it sure is.” 

You started feeling uncomfortable. Lying on the dock, face smushed between two strangers' hands, and without any water. You craned your neck backwards to look into the dark crashing waves.

“DO YOU NEED WATER??” The smaller one questioned. “PAPY CAN YOU GET THEM A CUP? I DON’T...WANNA GET TOO CLOSE.”

“bro i think they need to  _ be _ in the water. it’s where they live.” 

You chirped again, hoping they would understand. You slowly pushed upwards with your hands, and started to scootch backwards off of the pier. You heard the small one gasp, and suddenly two arms started grabbing at your tail and waist. 

“COME ON BACK WITH US, YOU CAN LIVE IN THE TUB-”

You shrieked, immediately fighting back. In your panic you managed to push away and landed harshly on the wooden pier, before flopping back into the ocean. In your element you immediately swam forward, pushing yourself to your limit and rushing away. 

…

“OH  _ NO _ !” He shouted, horrified. “I DIDN’T THINK THEY WOULD, OH STARS  _ WHAT HAVE I DONE _ -”

“it’s alright bro. maybe next time just don’t pick someone up without their permission.”

“DO YOU… DO YOU THINK THEY’LL COME BACK?”

“ _ probably _ not today. maybe another time.” He said, getting himself to his feet. “come on. we’ll come back and see if they’re here in a few days. “

“OH....” He groaned. “I SURE HOPE SO.”


	2. First Impressions (second try)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That wasn't such a good first meeting. How about you try again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop okay so I color coded them.

What a bright day it is. Except for a few stray clouds creeping along the sky, the sun was kindly shining down on the water.

The muck you were resting in was nice. Comfortable even. Most everything at the very bottom of the ocean was hard and brittle. The plants grew vertically and unevenly, flowering sharply in every direction, and constantly hiding fish that didn’t like you cuddling their homes. Even the sand, which was softer and kinder, was dusty and clouded the water when you dug.

Sometimes that came to your advantage, like when you needed to confuse a bigger fish on the rare occasions you swam farther out. However you hardly needed to even get close to those things, so most of the time the sand was just a constant annoyance. 

But with these patches of mud you could dig as much as you wanted, and the muck just slipped through your fingers back onto the ocean floor. Making little pits to avoid the never ending current was easier than finding an unoccupied cave anyway. 

You opened and closed your mouth while working, scooping up globs of the mud and flinging it weightlessly away. Quickly you had made a you-sized hole amounge the sparse coral. You sank down into it, wiggling and giving yourself just a little more space. 

Laying flat on your back, staring up at the waves above you. Occasionally a fish zipped through your field of vision, hurrying to wherever it needed to go, but mostly all you could see was a moving ceiling of sparkling blues and whites. Although it was prettier when you could actually make out the details, it was still lovely to just sit and watch. The tide never stopped, and when the sun was out the waves always shimmered.

Distantly something broke the surface and then plunged back down again. You grimaced at the interruption. Shriekers. 

Right on cue a high pitched scream sounded from just as far away, and was responded to by several others like it. You didn’t like them even by themselves, but they always traveled in packs. They seemed smart, and acted much like you. But whenever you tried to interact with them they all would circle and ram their rubbery snouts into your stomach. The tourists seemed to like them, though you couldn’t see why. But at least they shrieked wherever they went, giving you a little warning.

These seemed far, and when you listened you could hear the light push of their bodies against the current. They were hard to gauge, the shriekers. They might not attack as long as you didn’t approach them, but they also could very well decide to get you while you had yourself cornered in the muck.

Suddenly a shadow slowly crept into the corner of your vision. You jolted upright, your mind half expecting them to have somehow snuck up on you. But upon closer inspection, you realized the blurred shadow was not something preparing to strike, but something floating on the surface. 

You looked around, and besides the few colorful fish and mollusks casually going about their lives, nothing seemed to be around in the mud, let alone interested in whatever was bouncing carelessly in the waves. 

You slowly pushed your way out of the muck that had sank over you in your outburst, never taking your eyes off of the strange object. As you swam upwards, and it came more and more into focus, you thought it seemed familiar. 

It felt light on your finger tips. You pushed slightly, and you lifted it up without even trying. You peeked your head above the waves, and your suspicions were confirmed. 

How had it gotten so far out? Glancing toward the mountains, you could barely see the dark smudge of trees before it, let alone the shore. You let the beach ball drop back down to the surface, barely splashing and bouncing freely.

Should you…? 

It definitely belonged to the two tourists you had the strange interactions with. For the last few days you had tried to avoid the beach, just in case they were on the lookout for you. You didn’t have any harsh feelings against them. Until the small one had touched you so suddenly, they seemed kind. 

You didn’t  _ have _ to bring it to the shore. It was their fault for losing it again. But as you watched it bob back and forth in the waves you couldn’t help but remember their faces, and their glowing eyes that got brighter when they spoke. And how they seemed...together, in a sense. They interested you.

The shriekers shrieked once more, sounding closer. You decided you would return the ball, if only to avoid them.

You pushed upwards once more, hugging the ball with both arms and attempting to dive under with it in your arms. However your plans quickly came to a halt when it slipped out and rocketed upwards with such force it hit you upside the head. 

Under the water again you looked up incredulously at the thing. How was it so airy on the surface but so heavy under? You once again swam before it, hugging it with both arms, attempting to just make it sink with your pure weight alone. However this just ended with the ball tipping forward and you unceremoniously getting dunked under the waves.

A challenge. You could take it. 

You swam slowly just under water, keeping your head up and keeping watch of the bright toy. Every few strokes you reached up and pushed the ball forward, occasionally bumping it’s side to keep it on the same track as you. 

It took much longer than you would have liked. At points you flipped onto your back, your neck getting stiff from looking up so often. But something was driving you forward. Maybe an embarrassment. It wasn’t your fault that your last meeting had ended so terribly, but you were still enjoying the two of them until that point. This was the least you could do.

You eventually reached the more shallow parts, where the vast seagrass turned into patched, and the cluttered rocks were just small stones sprinkled in the sand.

The beach was empty. The sun was in the middle of the sky. It seemed like a perfect day for tourists. But sometimes days like this happened. Whatever weird traditions they had meant that even on perfectly good days no one would be there.

You swam just before the wooden pier, deciding to toss it onto the beach. Then it wasn’t your responsibility. You threw the ball up into the air, and shoved it forward with your head onto the sand.

It suddenly stopped mid air, and it took you a moment to process the lightly colored steam floating around it. However you reacted immediately to the small skeleton bursting through the dense line of trees, staring intently at the ball with his hands up.

“MERMAID!” He shouted, the fog disappearing as it dropped into his arms and he rushed towards the water. “OH YOU ACTUALLY SHOWED UP! I WAS STARING TO THINK IT WOULDN’T WORK!”

You tensed up hard and began to paddle away, staring horrified at the small skelton. 

“OH DID I SURPRISE YOU? STARS I KNEW I WOULD.” He shouted, trying to wave you down. “I PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE CAUGHT IT LIKE THAT. DON’T WORRY, IT’S FINE!” He kicked his leg up and booted the ball to the opposite end of the beach, then turned to you with a nervous expression.

Suddenly the tall one appeared behind him. “hey. so it worked?”

You paddled even farther back, beginning to sink below the water. He had appeared out of nowhere. Even you knew that was not normal. 

“oops.”

“AGH! I JUST WANNA KEEP THEM IN ONE PLACE SO I CAN EXPLAIN!”

“what with magic? that’s kidnapping.”

“NOT KIDNAPPING! JUST… WELL, IT KIND OF SOUNDS LIKE KIDNAPPING BUT I SWEAR IT’S NOT! EVEN IF MY MAGIC WORKED IN WATER, IT WOULDN’T BE KIDNAPPING!”

“of course.” The tall one chuckled. “Well, how did they get here in the first place?”

“THEY SWAM! WITH THE- OH!!” 

Suddenly the short one sprinted quickly across the beach, taking the giant ball in his arms. He hopped to the shore, and threw the ball into the air then punted it across the waves. 

The ball ended up near you. You realized you should have just swam away, and leave them to deal with it. The small one had just purposely thrown it into the water, he  _ wanted _ you to return it. But something was driving you to return it. Something innate that seemed to pull you to the shore. 

You sighed, slowly swimming towards the ball, not bothering to hide your tail. You could feel their glowing eyes watching you, but they hadn’t tried anything so far. You reached the ball and hit it back in their general direction, not bothering to aim. 

The small one ran to catch it, and surprisingly did. He looked back at you, a huge smile adorning his features. He ran back along the sand to the shore once more, and bopped it with both fists towards you again. It landed right besides you, splashing. 

You tilted your head. It  _ was _ on purpose. You took the ball and hit it with your forehead. He once again ran after it.

It was… a little fun. They were trying to have fun with you. It calmed your nerves slightly, allowing yourself to inch closer to the shore.

The figures were clearer now. The shock had worn away. They wouldn’t come any closer, somehow you knew. A small part of you had wanted to see them. 

Slowly, the cycle continued. The two settled besides the pier, the tall one sat peacefully, the small one hitting and chasing after the toy, running less and less as you grew closer.

Eventually the tall one pulled something out of the folds in his clothing. Something large and straight, shiny and the color of muck. He fiddled with the ends of it, and ripped it away like a fragile shell. As you struck the ball back to the shore, you watched as he peeled it off, revealing something of a similar shape and color. He stuck it between his teeth and bit down. 

He glanced back over to you and caught you staring. He smiled, and took a corner of the thing in his fingers and broke off a chunk. He mimicked tossing it above the waves, and you immediately understood. He threw it towards you.

You grabbed it between your fingers. You looked it over curiously. Brown and soft. In the nearly-sunny day, it started melting in your hands. You pushed it to your face, sniffing it. It didn’t smell like much, overpowered by the salty sea air. You tentatively opened your mouth and took a small bite. Immediately you were overcome with the taste. 

Sweet. Sweetness and softness that coated your mouth. Rich and wonderful in such a way that for a moment you didn’t want anything else to ever eat.

You heard the tall one snicker at you. When you turned your eyes back to them they seemed mesmerized by your actions. Blue pushed the ball to you, now just a few feet away. You held your chin up high. But you did feel joy. Either from the apparent food or just the connection.

You pushed it back, moving closer again. So close that your stomach was scraping against the stones and sand. They were in arms reach. 

The tall one waved a hand lazily, breaking off another piece of the bar, this time handing it to you in an outstretched hand. You were quick to take it, despite how much you wanted to seem uninterested.

“AWW! THEY LIKE THE CHOCOLATE!” The small one cooed. He leaned closer, though was obviously making the effort to seem farther. “HI MERMAID! I”M REALLY GLAD YOU CAME.”

“same. a choco-lot.”

“PAPY NO-” The small one seemed to realize something as you were muching down. “OH! WE HAVEN’T INTRODUCED OURSELVES!” He looked to the tall one. “WAIT. STARS THIS HAPPENS EVERYTIME WE INTRODUCE OURSELVES. WHAT DO WE-?”

“well,” The tall one said. “our friends call us sans and paps. But our  _ other _ friends couldn’t...”

“THAT GOT TOO CONFUSING!” The small one finished. “SO WE ALL GO BY COLORS! I GOT BLUE, AND HE GOT ORANGE!” He pointed to the tall one.

“...Oanghe.” You repeated, finally feeling comfortable. Looking at the tall one for support. He nodded slowly, putting a hand on his chest. 

“orange. me, I’m orange.”

“Oranghe!” You said, it slowly getting easier on your jaw. He nodded again, and patted his chest again. It suddenly clicked.

You reached over and put your hand on his. “Orange! Orange!” You yelped. That was him, the tall one was Orange. 

He, while his eye lights seemed slightly brighter in amusement, wasn’t as nearly as ecstatic compared to the short one. 

“PAPY!  _ THEY GOT IT SO QUICKLY!! _ ” He shouted, jumping up and down. He had his hands up to his face, like he was restraining himself. “OH STARS! DO ME NOW, I’M BLUE!  _ BLUE.. _ !”

It came much quicker to you now, you lunged closer and put a hand on his chest. “Boo.” 

His face glowed the same color as his eyes as he looked down at your hand against his ribcage. “Y-YEAH! I MEAN, ALMOST!” He said. The tall one snickered, and he shot him a look. “ _ BLUE _ . BLUE!” He repeated.

You thought hard, moving your mouth in different ways as you tried to figure out how to make the specific sounds. Both were watching you intently.

“ _ Llll _ …” You eventually found the right sound behind your top teeth. “...Bluh-ooh.” 

He put his gloved hand over yours, his eyelights wider and brighter than ever. You could feel him rattling with intensity under your palm, making you smile. 

“Blu.... _ Blllll _ ....” You firmly stuck your tongue against your teeth, no matter how strange it felt. You inhaled the salty air. “ _ Blue _ .” 

“BLUE! THAT’S ME!” He shouted. His eyes were even brighter now, but there was more. They were twinkling, streaked with every gradient of a clear sky in the afternoon. Without realizing you had leaned in even closer, holding onto his ribs, staring wide eyed at him.

“HHHNNG…!” He noised, frozen in place and glowing even more.

The tall one,  _ Orange _ , seemed even more entertained. “I think they like your ‘lights bro.”

“I.... THANK YOU?” His eyes dilated even more, and he seemed more happy. Suddenly they sparkled even more, forming something that resembled a shining star. You gasped and grinned widely, chittering happily. 

“look at you, already pulling out the party tricks.” The tall one said. Blue grinned proudly. He stood up and posed dramatically.

“OF COURSE! I’M ALWAYS HAPPY TO MAKE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSIONS!” He paused. “WELL ACTUALLY OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS WERE A LITTLE EMBARRASSING CONSIDERING YOU LITERALLY RAN AWAY, BUT NOW WE’RE MAKING A LOT OF PHYSICAL CONTACT SO I THINK I’M DOING ALRIGHT!”

You chirped and splashed your tail in the shallows. Whatever he had said he was very happy about it.

“don’t you mean-”

“NOT IN FRONT OF THE MERMAID-!”

“....” Orange was quiet, and the two were making eye contact you could only describe as intense.

“...alr- _ eye- _ ht?” 

Something about the way he said it seemed off. You glanced back at Blue, who was pinching the bridge of his nasal. For some reason this was ridiculously entertaining. You adjusted yourself. Laying stomach down on the pebbles was getting uncomfortable.

Orange chuckled. “don’t look so down, bro. besides, if they could understand i bet they’d laugh.” 

“ _ Lllll _ augh.” You trilled proudly.

“see?”

Blue made a huffing sound, but was still smiling. “ENOUGH! DON’T MAKE THE FIRST WORDS THEY COMPREHEND A PUN.”

“Fun!”

“NO! NOT FUN!” He shouted, desperately waving his hands around. You bubbled happily.

They both stopped and looked at you, Blues face going even deeper in it’s color and Oranges eyes dilated slightly. 

“that’s new.”

You bubbled again. You were having a good time.

Blue immediately plopped back down to his knees, lightly crunching against the rocks. “SO YOU  _ CAN _ LAUGH? THAT’S ADORABLE!” 

“Laugh!”

“can you laugh again for us kid?”

Laugh. That was what they called bubbling? It wasn’t something you did very often. It always came at the most unexpected times. Like when you had seen two gulls crash mid air while you were watching the sun rise.

You made the same noises you would when you bubbled, though there was curiosity behind it now.

They both seemed happy at this. You grinned happily and splashed your tail again. “Laugh!  _ Llllll _ augh.” 

“they catch on so fast.” Orange chuckled, dramatically wiping at his eye socket. 

Suddenly without warning the air was filled with a deafening tone. A sound familiar, but still instinctively terrifying. You immediately attempted to swim away, but quickly realized you had gone too close to the shore. You dug your fingers into the loose stones and clawed your way under the dock. Not in your element, but still protected. 

The two seemed less surprised by the sound and more by your response. Blue had jumped to his feet and was standing over you, clearly trying not to appear threatening but still calm you down. Orange was standing just on the edge of the under the pier, stooped over so that he could see you both. 

“HU-MERMAID!” Blue stammered. “WHAT’S WRONG? WHAT HAPPENED?” 

The noise toned again, sounding farther away, but still too close for comfort. You sunk lower, trying to see if you could somehow spot the terrible thing on the shoreline. However you had no such luck.

“DO YOU… NOT LIKE THE BOATS?”

“ _ Boats _ !”

You didn’t say anything more, still frantically searching the shore. You leaned your head forward and burrowed your head into the less shallow parts, your face pressed hard against the pebbles just so your ears could be below the water. Now you could faintly hear the unmistakable roar of a motar far away in the water, and get fainter by the second. 

In the corner of your eye you could see the outline of a skull leaning over to look at you. Then you could feel a boney finger gently pressing against your shoulder. Quickly enough that you could tell he didn’t want to scare you. How kind.

You lifted your head and blinked away the sand caught in your eyelashes. You made a noise that conveyed nothing more than that you were there. 

“is their nose alright?” Orange asked. When you turned your head to face him you saw that he was actually under the pier now. 

“I THINK??? STARS MERMAID, ARE YOU OKAY?”

“Otay?” You mumbled. Whatever he was on about was less important than the ship you could recognize as enemy.

“O _ kay _ .” Orange repeated, leaning down over you. “that means safe.” He grinned lazily and gestured at his face. “means happy, see?”

He seemed even larger when you saw him from this angle. But somehow you still knew he was kind in his words. “Ohhhhh…..kuh-ay.” You copied his smile. “Okuh-ay. Meens ‘appy”

Blue let out a high pitched squeal, putting his hands up to his teeth and rattling intensely. His eyes were once again swimming with brilliant colors and shapes. You bubbled, laughed, happily. 

“huh. so they don’t care about loud noises. just the boat” The tall one said without looking away. “good job bro.”

Blue finally broke his sight away from you. “OH! YES, I FIGURED IT OUT!” He said, adjusting his bandance with flair. “I,THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, WITH MY EXCELLENT PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS, HAS HELPED THE MERMAID IN DISTRESS!” He looked back to you,and you adjusted yourself once more. 

“BUT WHY DON’T YOU LIKE BOATS? ARE THEY TOO LOUD FOR YOUR MERMAID EARS??” He asked, sounding concerned. 

You stared blankly at him. “Okuh-ay.” You hummed. 

“you might have to simplify for them.”

“OH! RIGHT!” He said. Blue glanced around the small area, looking for ideas. 

Orange held his arms above his head, gesturing at the wooden pier handing above us. Blue splashed to the spot you had been before, and then spirinted back to you. 

This was… complicated. They wanted to talk to you about the pier? 

The familiar blaring horn sounded once more, this time far away enough that, at least under the pier, you felt safe. You still found your muscles tensing, just out of instinct.

Blue jumped up and pointed excitedly in the direction of the sound. “OH! THAT! MERMAID, THAT NOISE!!” He continued to motion at the distant horizon. Then he took a tentative step forward to the closest pillar and put a hand on it, tapping it, then pointing again. 

You stared at him, then to the water. There was some connection between the pier and the boat. Something they wanted to ask. Blue and Orange kept gesturing at the wooden beams, the slits of sunlight shining through the gaps in the dock.

Almost… Questioningly. What could they question about the pier? 

Blue tapped the wood once more, and something clicked. You gasped and splashed your hands in the water. Your communication, while simple, got the point across. Blues face lit up and he jumped with giddiness. Orange grinned down at you. 

“i think they get it.”

“AHH! OKAY, NOW WE JUST NEED A WAY FOR THEM TO EXPLAIN!” 

Blue pointed to the side of his skull. “MERMAID! IS IT THE SOUND? DOES IT HURT YOUR EAR?”

You couldn’t identify what he was trying to point to. “...Ear?”

“YES OR NO?”

“Yes er no.”

“WAIT, WHICH ONE IS IT?”

“Is it?”

Orange chuckled. “ah cut ‘em some slack bro. they’re like a parrot, they’re just copying you.” He crouched down to your level. “polly want a cracker?”

“Wanna cacker!” You chirped, happy that he seemed to be enjoying your attempts at speech.

He laughed again, putting a hand on your head. “you’re funny kid.” 

Blue had trudged his way back closer to shore, and was small enough that he could stand under in the least deep area. “OKAY, SO TALKING ISN’T AN OPTION YET. AND USING MY AMAZING, LOGISTICAL PROWESS I’M GOING TO ASSUME THEY CAN’T WRITE EITHER.” He sat down, clearly thinking. “...CAN YOU DRAW?”

“i mean… they got hands.” 

Blue hummed in agreement, and flipped to his hands and knees. He scanned the water. He scooped up a small grey stone, pointed slightly at one end. 

He jumped up and was once again next to you. “OKAY, BASICALLY YOUR GOING TO CARVE WHY YOU HATE BOATS, AND WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT!” 

He mimicked moving the rock around on the wooden pole besides you, before proudly handing it off to you. You stared at it for a moment. He wanted you to draw? This wasn’t the right kind of rock for that. 

You tossed it aside, to Blues dismay, and shoved your head beneath the water again, this time with enough room that you weren’t just face planting into the rocks. You pushed forwards slightly, looking around for any flashes of orange and red.

It was easy enough to find a piece. You grabbed it and awkwardly spun back to face Blue and Orange in the shallow water. You broke the surface and showed Blue the stone, splashing your tail once in the water to get the point across.

“...WHAT IS-”

“oh. it’s brick, they think they could draw better with a piece of brick.”

Blue thought for a moment. “HUH! ACTUALLY THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.” He smiled widely. “OKAY MERMAID, GO AHEAD! WHY DO YOU HATE BOATS?”

Boats. Mean things. You exhaled. The air was starting to cool as more clouds gathered.

You quickly swiped the rock across the wet wood, shaping the underside of a boat. The walls of every ship led down into the water and ended in a long fin, stretching along the width of it’s bottom. You stabbed at the wood to add the barnacles, and scribbled circles around it’s edge to copy the way the engines foamed in the water. 

You analyzed your work and dropped the brick back into the water, almost blending into a lighter part of your fin. You looked back at the two, who were watching you curiously. 

You smacked the pillar with your open palm. Eyes wide and confidant. 

Orange leaned farther down, his hands stuffed into his clothing pocket. “...what?” He finally said, continuously scanning your picture.

You smacked the wood again and bleated loudly. 

Blue put his hands up in alarm. “AH IT’S OKAY! IT’S OKAY!” He hopped closer, getting a better look. Only when you watched him struggle to understand it did you realize that they had probably never seen a boat from the bottom. Plus, who’s to say they could understand just how evil the boat was to you?

You grimace and found the brick piece again. They were from a completely different world, they saw things differently. But you were anything if not determined to express your hatred for nearly every ship in these waters.

Blue moved back when he saw you coming. You took a cupped hand of water and scrubbed away your previous picture, quickly starting over. This time there were no fine details, simply long hard diagonal lines. You drew a row of these lines, then another, weaving a criss-cross pattern in the simplest way you could.

You moved to the side, smacking your new drawing. 

Both Blue and Orange inspected it again. Blue’s eyelight widened. 

“tic tac toe.”

“A NET?”

“that makes more sense.” Orange stood up straight, his head nearly against the top of the pier. “so.... you get caught in the fishing nets polly?”

They seemed more understanding at this drawing. You chirped and smacked it again. 

“hmm.” Orange noised, looking down at you in thought. He extended his hand down to you, and in a small act of silent connection you handed him the orange-brown rock. He squatted down next to you, low enough to stare dead on to your work.

His hand moved slowly and fluidly, no thought in his expression but enough confidence to make his drawing considerate. You shuffled awkwardly behind him to look over his shoulder. Blue had done the same.

He moved away, still looking over his work. You looked closer, analyzing his add on. 

The net pattern was still there, obviously, but in the gap between two strings he had drawn a crude stick figure person, stiff arms and a head with scribbles dancing off of it. Hair. You felt your own and saw that the bottom half of the figure was more squiggled. It reminded you of seaweed, but it didn’t take a genius to know that he had meant it to be a tail. 

This was you. Arms but no legs, entangled in the terrifying nets. You perked up and smacked the wood again, this time with both hands, squeaking excitedly. 

Blue clapped his hands. “PAPY YOU GOT IT! OH STARS LOOK, THEY KNOW IT’S THEM!”

Orange seemed slightly proud of himself. “heh. look at that.” The joy of communication seemed to outweigh your hatred of boats. Besides the one you had randomly decided to trust, they could sink for all you cared. 

“MERMAID,” Blue said, putting both hands on your shoulders, with an intensity you could literally hear in his body. “JUST KNOW THAT I WOULD SINGLE HANDEDLY TAKE DOWN ANY BOATS THAT CATCH YOU.”

“and i’ll be there to cheer him on.”

“YEAH!”

You laughed. You were glad you had decided to bring the ball back.You glanced at it on the beach, rolling slightly in the wind but still visible. It wasn’t as bright now that the sky was nearly full of clouds, but the happy colors could be spotted anywhere. 

There was a very distant rumbling somewhere in the vast horizon. Almost blending into the crashing water. You almost thought it was another boat, but when the two skeletons looked out of the pier and to the grey sky you knew it was thunder. 

“WELL THAT’S TERRIBLE NEWS.”

Orange hummed in agreement. “And we’re in the water, under something wooden. We should  _ probably _ leave.”

Blue seemed saddened by this, and nervously looked at you. “WILL YOU BE OKAY MERMAID?”

“Okuh-ay. Means happy.” You smiled.

He smiled back, and put a hand to your chest. “MERMAID IS OKAY?” 

You smiled wider. He was asking about you! “Murrrmade is okay!”

Both seemed happy about this. There was another crack of thunder, this time followed by fuzzy lightning. They seemed uncomfortable still under the pier. But something felt off. You needed to do something.

You gently smacked Blues shoulders and gestured at the water, now rippling with tiny droplets. The rain was nice, but now is no time to enjoy it. You let go of him and scooted along the rock into the less shallow water, until it was deep enough for you to actually swim

You zipped forward, two specific locations in mind. It wasn’t hard to find, you just had to follow the trail you followed so many times. It was just time, as every raindrop hit the surface, getting heavier by the second, you wondered if they would stay. 

Finally you found one. One of the many treasures you had lined up along the floor to guide you, was the jaw of the biggest fish you had caught. Well, it had been at that time. But it had meant so much to you the trail was littered with bones from the same trawl. Though you particularly liked the jaw, and decided it would be perfect.

You continued swimming, quickly dodging the various plants that had grown over your path, until you found the stone that you were looking for. Small and shiny, with a single stripe running across the width the same color as your tail. Sometimes you would just hold it above water until it dried, turning into a murkier brown. But it was just as lovely. 

Spinning around in glee, an precious item in each hand, you swam so hard your tail ached by the time you reached the pier again. A tall figure stood alone on the edge of the dock, waiting patiently. 

You broke above the crashing water, so excitedly that your breath didn’t stagnate from one way to the other. 

You swam the length of the pier until you could reach, him following along from the top. Finally you reached upwards and pulled yourself up. He looked down at you in amusement. 

You tugged on his shorts, and he leaned down so that your faces were inches apart. You grabbed at his shoulder to pull him down slightly more, and gently bonked your forehead against his, pressing the fish jaw into his hand. You sank back into the water, swimming quickly back to the shore when Blue was also waiting and getting soaked. 

He crouched down to your eye level. “OH MERMAID! WHAT DID YOU-” You cut him off by rushing and bumping your head against his, bubbling with joy when you saw his face go from confusion to shock to amazement. His face and eyes were bright and glowy, and while he was staring dumbfounded at you, you took the opportunity to drop the shell onto the ground before him and swim away, grappling at the rocks and sand before shooting away. 

What a bright day it is, rain and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all: Wow a mermaid fic with all my favorite boys, this seems cool!  
> Y/n: Anyway here's my opinions on dolphins and why they're terrible. 
> 
> Also yes the other will be here soon. I just wanted to include underswap fellas while i still could.
> 
> follow my tumblr maybe? https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacketbones


	3. Twisted Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this is the best thing that could have happened to you.

Nighttime. 

The darkness forced the sun past the horizon, letting the world cool. Each cloud, so striking against the hot sky just a few minutes ago, now blending into the sleepy, blurred above. 

The sea didn’t calm with the night. The wind blew gently, letting the droplets of ocean stuck to your eyelashes fall away. But even that small breeze shook up the water, and the sound of it all buried anything else, and everything unanimously decided that during those stormy hours it was time to rest.

You yawned through your gills, feeling your neck stretch with it. You couldn’t be bothered to swim properly higher up, and had just opted to paddle your way lazily across the bottom, your limp arms scraping against some stray coral and rocks. 

The moon and faint stars were your only light, but you had followed this path so many times. 

Finally your tired eyes saw the pearly reflection of a bottle cap in the outstretched weeds. Through the plants, across the patch of muck, and around the huge stone covered in carvings. Your little quiet place.

A valley of pure, soft sand. Surrounded on both sides by piles of rocks. You knew they were full of mollusks and small fish, but you still felt cozy. Like it was just you and the current. 

Sand, while hard to dig in during the day, seemed to change completely at night. The clouds of dust didn’t bother you while you were tired, maybe because you knew that when it settled you would have a place to sleep. 

Your fingernails scraped up the final bit of rock, leaving a mermaid sized hole in the ground. You let yourself fall into it, wiggling and shaping it around you. Your movements let the excess sand spill over top of you, until just your face and neck were uncovered. You hummed. On wave-filled nights you would tend to avoid such an open spot, but it was just too comfortable.

You stared off into the distance, where a faint dark forest swayed with the tide, rusting so quietly the ocean swallowed it’s noise to anything that wasn’t listening. 

The sparkling waves far above were glossy, the sand was enveloping you so calmly. Your weary eyes shut, then opened, then closed for the final time.

…

_ What is this? _

_ Who are you?  _

_ What am I? _

_ Where are you going?  _

_...I should go too. Who knows what could be around. _

_. _

_ What exactly was that? What did I do? What am I doing now? _

_ Swish swish _

_ I guess i’m over here now.  _

_. _

_ Everything is so big. But you are smaller.  _

_ Why leave? Why swish swish away? _

_ Why do I want to chase you? _

_...Why does  _ **_that_ ** _ want to chase me? _

_... _

A vague feeling against you. A vague noise all around you. You exhaled, aware that something was brushing against your neck. It took you a moment to fully realize that it wasn’t sand. 

You opened your eyes groggily, realizing hazily that in your sleep you had drifted away from your spot. Clearly you hadn’t buried yourself enough. A mistake you were usually better at avoiding.

For however long you had been out you had slowly been carried away by the water. Now, blinking through the fog and sleepiness you finally realized where you were. The sliver of moonlight through the quiet waves shining on the kelp, casting you in a deep shade the color of algae. 

You swam forward without a thought. It was a silly mistake, but the worst the kelp did was catch on your back fins.

You closed your eyes and listened. The rustling of the ropey plants, the gentle hum of some kind of machinery, probably the strange tubes you found buried sometimes, the breaths of shriekers somewhere close. You didn’t bother worrying about them, they would all be asleep in their packs, floating somewhere above you. 

And eventually you made out a noise, or a lack of one. Just in front of you the swish of the kelp didn’t seem to go on forever. The quickest way out.

You kept your eyes closed, enjoying the calming sounds of the leaves brushing together around you. The kelp was so light you could push it out of the way just by swimming against it. 

The hum seemed to get louder. You pushed it away, just enjoying the slow swim and the thought of burrowing again. 

You swam into another vine of kelp, and pushed forward. You felt like you couldn’t get through. You pushed slightly harder.

The vine pushed back.

Your eyes shot open, revealing a brightly colored criss cross pattern. You spun so quickly your fin nearly snagged on the net, and swam hard. But the net was faster, like it was prepared for this. 

The hum was dangerous now, untrustworthy and unknown. 

As you attempted to swim down into the rocks, the net swallowed you in every direction. Before you could react, you were being hoisted upwards. 

Suddenly feeling the panic set in, you set your teeth to the net, but were immediately knocked back by a familiar rubbery face. All around you the shriekers had awoken and we're slamming themselves into the net, forcing you back and forth with nowhere to go. You wanted to shriek back at them, their screams piercing your head. 

You attempted once again to chew at the material, but were pushed back. They were all in a panic, attacking at whatever they could. 

Your head was suddenly out of water, making you breath through the wrong pipe. You coughed, complete terror filling your chest. As you felt yourself lifted completely out of the water, you might as well have closed your eyes again. Even the moon was covered by clouds.

You were thrown onto the deck of a boat, the cold metal floor not doing anything to calm your panic. 

There was a high cry in the open air, and you realized that a shrieker had been pulled up along with you. Was that why they were so desperate to destroy the net? If only they trusted you. 

The cries continued, it squirmed fearfully next to you, flinging water all around. You had no idea how to react. You weren’t prepared to see a boat. Boats weren’t out at this time. You had gotten caught in nets, but you had never managed to be taken onto the boat itself. Usually you could bite yourself free.

“That’s a light one. How many did we get?”

A nearly invisible figure in the dark bent over and grabbed the shrieker, nearly touching you. It squealed, and was quickly let go.

“I only hear one. But it’s a good enough weight.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Two pairs of identical legs moved away from the deck, opening a small door, slipping inside, and letting it shut behind them.

In a moment the idle ship started up again with an unfamiliar roar of the motor. You could feel the boat moving, speeding quickly across the water.

You shivered. The shrieker wasn't shrieking anymore. It had squirmed overtop of you and exhaled shakily, whistling from it’s snout. You couldn’t be mad at them anymore. They were just as scared as you, just as helpless. 

Your vision was fogging. A familiar feeling. When you got too dry, for too long, everything felt like you were being chased. But you didn’t know what came after. You had always been close to water, just sunning on a rock or in the sand. 

The shrieker exhaled again, almost fearfully. You moved your arms up, your skin grazing against its slick back. 

It shook, letting out a whine and thrashing it’s back fin. You ran a limp hand along it’s face. “ _ Okay _ .  _ Okay _ .  _ Okay _ .” 

It calmed. Squeaking higher than the rest did, without rhythm or pitch. A baby. You felt…worse, knowing this. Whatever the shriekers were, or for whatever reason they hated you, they were… together. This was probably the first time this baby had been separated from the others. 

You twisted your head, opening your mouth and gnawing at the net. It was easier now, but still difficult on your jaw. You finally got a small enough hole through it, and stretched it wider. Enough to stick both of your arms through.

You were too tired to dig at it anymore. You leaned back and stroked it’s nose one more time, it’s wet skin was comforting. Scooping it up and pushing yourself as far as you could in your confines, you reached upwards over the edge of the boat. So close to freedom. 

You stretched your arms as far as they could, feeling your shoulders burn slightly from the dry air. 

“ _ Happy. Okay _ .” 

The baby slipped out of your hands as your wrists gave out, splashing in the water below. 

Without the baby near you there was nothing more stopping you from drying even more. Everything felt stiff. Your stomach seemed to crumble, and you fell to the hard metal deck, scraping your face on the way down.

Every joint in your body was stinging, your skin was drying more by the second. You felt that if you moved again you would shatter. 

You heard in the distance a small, piercing shriek and happy splashing. A small bit of comfort in your most uncomfortable. 

Your vision weren't darker. You shut your eyes, feeling like you were spinning and falling endlessly.

Just rest. 

…

You were awake, but you couldn’t open your eyes. Something had splashed over your face and exposed back. 

Rushing water underneath. But now with the faint rusting of plants. And the smell of bittersweet.

…

Tangled up. The cold metal floor was gone.

“Does this, uh, seem lighter?”

Something grabbing your tail.

“Nah, we still got it. Don’t worry.”

…

One knock against something solid. Creaking.

“That you?”

“Yeah.”

“We only got one. We’re still getting paid though, right?”

More creaking. “Yeah, yeah. Bring it in, better than nothing.”

You started to go dark again. You were suddenly thrown onto something very cold and very hard. For a moment the only thing you were aware of was your breath, or lack of it. It was completely knocked out of you.

_ Click _

“ _ What the fu-! _ ”

Why was it so bright behind your eyelids? What had just happened?

“Oh. OH.  _ How did that _ -”

Your scales were so scratchy. 

“We didn’t see it! I  _ swear _ we didn’t see it!”

Were you alive? Surely you were breathing again, but maybe that didn’t mean anything.

“How the-” A deep breath. “Just, how?! Aren’t you supposed to be professionals?” 

“No?!”

Your entire body hurt, but your tail especially ached. Like the entire thing was bruising endlessly. 

“It was dark! How were we supposed to see it was a monster?”

“You couldn’t tell the difference between a dolphin and one of them? Get it outta here! I can’t be using their meat, I don’t even know how I could! I’d get the inspector up my-”

“What are we supposed to do with it? We ain’t driving back to those docks, the other boats are already out.”

“I don’t know, just get it away! Toss it in the alley, let it dust.”

“In  _ this _ neighborhood?”

“Just look at it, will you? This thing’s gonna dust either way. Better out there than on my stock.”

“Fine.”

You felt a terrible shooting pain through your arms as you were hoisted up by your armpits, and unceremoniously dragged forward. Your scales scraped against the floor.

You felt yourself get dragged over a bump, and suddenly the air smelled different. A slam from behind you. Whoever was holding your limp form paused.

“Where do we-?”

“Anywhere I guess.”

“...I don’t feel very good about this.”

“What do you wanna do, go join the  _ ambassador _ and preach for their new laws?”

“Alright, alright. But at least not in the garbage. That’s just mean.”

“Okay...how about that?”

“...Yeah, yeah that seems good.”

You were dragged just a little more, and dropped onto something gentler than the ground. Lumpy and crinkly, but nice. Like a sponge, but smooth.

“...It’s kinda sad looking.”

“That’s what I was saying.”

“Well…”

“...”

“...”

“...Should we go?”

“Yeah.” 

…

Darkness. The entire world was nothing but dry, uncomfortable, darkness.

But, somehow you had a feeling something good had just happened. 

...

“OH I HOPE IT’S STILL HERE. I DIDN’T THINK!”

Light. Wasn’t it just dark?

“i wouldn’t worry about it, it’s an honest mistake.”

“STILL! HE GOT SO MAD.”

“yeah edge is like that. but you’re bigger than him, so that’s something.”

“AREN’T WE THE SAME HEIGHT WHEN HE’S WEARING SHOES?”

“oh right. well... your teeth are bigger.”

“OH! HEY YOU’RE RIGHT! THANK YOU!”

“heh. always here to help, that’s my _ floss-ophy _ .”

Things were getting closer. Rattling.

“WAS THAT ALL SET UP?”

“perhaps.”

“STARS YOU ARE JUST-!”

“oh hey look the bags.”

“...SOMEONE’S SLEEPING ON THEM.”

“maybe they’re homeless.”

“WE SHOULD GIVE THEM SOME FOOD! EXCUSE ME!”

“...”

“...EXCUSE ME? HELLO?”

“...”

“uh…”

“HELLO? IF YOU DON’T WANT FOOD WE ALSO HAVE A COUCH! I FEEL LIKE THAT’S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE THAN OUR OLD CLOTHES.”

“...”

Something touched your shoulder, very gently. “HELLO?” It shouted into your ear.

Something else grazed your face. Then took your arm and pressed something to your wrist. 

“ARE THEY OKAY??”

“i think… they’ve got a soul beat, but it’s not the strongest. we should, uh, get them to a hospital.”

“GOOD PLAN!” Something lifted you up easily, clinking. “UH. WHICH ONE?”

“...human?”

“THEY HAVE A TAIL THOUGH?”

“... _ welp _ .”

“WE SHOULD ASK THE OTHERS. MAYBE IT’S ONE OF THEIR FRIENDS!”

“that’s an idea.”

Your face was pressed against something soft, but sturdy. It rattled against itself as it moved.

  
“HOLD ON, HUMAN!”

“er, whatever you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhhh 
> 
> So I actually don't like the ocean that much. It's cool, but i don't like it as a setting. This has always been apart of the plan, so hopefully no one was here specifically for the ocean.
> 
> Bonus points for anyone who can guess who these two bone boys are!


	4. New faces, new home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of introductions. But not all of them.

_ The tide goes in, the tide comes out, _

_ It’s cold. It’s cool. It’s never w _ **_a_ ** _ rm. _

_ It a _ **_l_ ** _ ways moves, it always breathes.  _

_ It’s full of us, I already kn _ **_o_ ** _ w that. We are everywhere. _

_ I am so small,  _ **_n_ ** _ o color, no ideas. _

_ And the whales song just pushes. _

_ And the wav _ **_e_ ** _ s are not my friend. _

_ They push, they shove, they get in my way. _

_ But no matter how I scream, _

_ The tide goes in, and the tide comes out. _

...

Cold bit your face suddenly, like a cool wind that came out of nowhere. You immediately sprung forward, nothing in your head but to move and live. It took you a moment, but your body recognized that it was water being dumped onto you from something above you.

It took another small bit, but you soon opened your eyes, that you were almost surprised opened at all from how dry they felt. You immediately found the excess water pooling underneath you, knocking your knuckles against something sturdy on the way down, and scrubbed your face with it, sighing in relief.

Your ears were ringing, your vision was foggy, and as you rolled and flopped around in the sweet, freezing water, you felt the overwhelming joy that came with life after death. Not that you died, you think anyways. Just dried out. Like an eye in the sun.

“See! I told ya water would work!”

“well i’m glad we came to you then.” 

Why did that sound so familiar?

“Well, I'll leave you nerds to it. Apparently I’m not good at being comforting.”

Your vision was slowly becoming clearer and clearer. Something large and something small, the large one put a limb against the small ones shoulder, almost playfully. 

“I need some OJ! I just brushed my teeth.”

“‘dyne... _ what _ ?”

“Last time I had orange juice after I brushed, I nearly threw up. Clearly I need training in this area, thus, OJ and toothpaste.”

“you know what? do it. just don’t let your girlfriend know.”

“Oh! Yeah that’s probably smart.”

“ _ orange _ you glad i told you?”

The large one cackled loudly. Even in your limited sight you could see they were incredibly muscular. 

“Don’t let Paps know you said that.”

“don’t worry, i will.”

More loud laughter. The other voice seemed to enjoy this.

“Alright, see yah Sans. Don’t tell them too many jokes.”

She walked just out of your sight, something creaked open.

“Hey Lav! Whatever that is smells dope, make extra for me.”

The door slammed shut behind her, but not before you heard a familiar sound. Rattling bones.

You took a hand of water and rubbed it in your eyes it. It felt much different than normal water, but it did the trick. You could see again, not great still, but much less blurred.

Sitting in front of you was what you thought was a familiar face, but as you blinked into focus it was clear that this was not Blue, but instead another skeleton. Short and stout like Blue, but shaped differently.

He seemed calm when looking at you, completely different from how you felt. You were not anywhere you knew. The water was different, the air was different, the skeletons were different, and here you were, in a small contained tub with barely any water in it.

“hey, don’t panic kid. we’re all alright.”

“... _ alright _ …” You repeated fearfully. The skeleton smiled calmly, moving slowly in an almost comforting way. 

“i’m sans, sans the skeleton.”

Sans. Sans. Sans the skeleton. That was him. Okay, you understood. But who was standing beyond the room? 

Sans followed your eyes. When they met the large, differently colored patch of wall, he seemed ever so slightly surprised. 

“i guess he’s not the best at hiding, huh?” He turned his body partially. “lav, come in! they must know you’re there.” 

“...ISN’T IT RUDE TO BE IN THE BATHROOM AT THE SAME TIME AS SOMEONE ELSE?” An incredibly loud voice replied. You were surprised, but you couldn’t help but feel like you had heard it recently.

Sans shrugged. “nah, the doors unlocked. come on in, we’re both decent.”

The patch on the wall creaked open, and you realized it had been an entryway to the rest of wherever you are. 

You tried to move back, but the tub was far too small to escape to any part. The entryway, the  _ door _ , as Sans said, opened, to reveal… another skeleton. But this one was tall, taller than the one other tall skeleton you had meant, taller than the dock at home was wide, taller than the  _ doorway _ , even. Even from such an outsider's perspective, this place wasn’t made for him.

Even so, as he rattled forward, you couldn’t help but think he was made for this place. His clothing, that looked soft and dry, we’re the same pale colors as the floors and walls beyond the door. His large, jagged teeth seemed disjointed from his face, and jolted from his jaw in unnatural ways. But the small, colorful covers stuck onto each one, and held in place by a thin strip of metal, made him look sweeter, and fit into the strange scene.

“kid,” Sans began. “this is lavender. me and him found you on the side of the road.”

“‘ide of a road.” You repeated without thinking, staring up at the menacing(?) skeleton. He looked down at you, almost, fearfully. Like he was nervous. You softened. They hadn’t attacked you. You won’t attack them.

You untensed your shoulders, and stared unbreaking at him. This didn’t seem to help him. He smiled, making his strange and colorful teeth even more prominent. 

“HI! I HOPE YOU’RE DOING OKAY NOW!” He said to you hopefully. He was leaning down, too tall to stand correctly in the small room. Sans leaned against a wall beside his large companion. 

You were quiet. You knew sort of what was being said, but… it was difficult to know what to say back. 

“...Okay.”

He smiled gratefully. “HOW DID YOU END UP THERE ANYWAY? WERE YOU ATTACKED FOR BEING A…  _ MONSTER _ ?” The last part of the sentence he didn’t seem sure of. Which was perfect, because you weren’t sure about any of it.

You waved your hands, which usually worked to convey your total lack of understanding. 

The two exchanged glances. Sans cleared his throat. 

“hola.  ¿ como te llamas y qué te sucedió?” He said, watching your reaction with intent.

You were silent. What he had said sounded different. Quick paced and less stiff. But, you still got no understanding out of it.

“nope.” He turned to Lavender. “you know any languages?”

“I LEARNED A LITTLE RUSSIAN IN THE UNDERGROUND, BUT ONLY ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT FOOD PACKAGING.” 

“give it a go.”

Lavender leaned down and scratched at his wrist nervously. You noticed he had a few dangling golden bracelets.

“UHHH... у тебя все нормально?”

This time you knew for sure it was different from what was normally said to you. So much harsher than what was spoken normally to you, which was strange coming from such a soft looking things mouth, no matter how jagged.

But still, you had no meaning for it.

“nope.” Sans sighed. He scratched at the back of his neck. “uhhh... paps knows some Italian? i’ll go get ‘em.” 

“OH!” Lavenders face went sunny. “SHOULD I GET MY BROTHER?”

Sans paused, for once losing part of his continuous smile. “...maybe not yet. just, uh, stay here and keep them company.” 

Lavender for a moment seemed disappointed, but quickly perked up. “RIGHT! GOOD LUCK!” He waved.

He pulled open the door. Sans walked into the beyond, and as the door shut slowly behind him you watched as he disappeared. You heard him amble along in the opposite direction the other two had left. Suddenly his footsteps disappeared, completely. And no matter how hard you listened you could not find him.

The tall skeleton you were now alone with, Lavender, smiled pleasantly down at you. 

“I KNOW YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND ME, AND YOU MUST BE SO CONFUSED. BUT TRUST ME, IT’S ALL GONNA BE OKAY. WE’RE GOING TO GET YOU HOME TO YOUR FAMILY, OKAY?”

He was...so kind. Your chest was pounding, and you still we’re terrified. But he was so genuine, and the yelling was familiar, but comforting. Big things we’re to be avoided, that was just common knowledge. But this person, so slender and eerie, with uneven, serrated bones, peeked down at you, clutching his wrist nervously, and smiled. 

And you didn’t feel in danger. 

“MY NAME’S PAPYRUS, BUT FOR A FEW REASONS I CAN’T USE THAT NAME.” He straightened, but just before the top of his skull hit the ceiling he remembered and returned to his stooped posture. “SO, LAVENDER! I LIKE THAT COLOR, SO I’M LAVENDER!” 

You cooed. He seemed taken aback. So jumpy.

“...YOU’RE VERY KIND! I THINK.” He smiled so hard his small eye sockets twinkled. “I’M GLAD YOU’RE ALRIGHT. I DON’T REMEMBER ANY MONSTERS LIKE YOU, BUT MAYBE YOU’RE FROM THE OTHER UNIVERSES.” His eyelights shrank. Ever so slightly. “I WOULD HOPE SO, ANYWAY.”

So, so jumpy. What was he afraid of? You chattered your teeth together, he nodded understandingly. 

“WELL...WHERE ARE YOU FROM?” 

You tilted your head. 

“OH. RIGHT.” He suddenly brightened. “I KNOW!”

He held up a gloved finger. “ONE SECOND, PLEASE.”

And with that he stepped backwards, tilted his head down at you and smiled again, then opened the door and left through it. You could hear him though. He was so massive each footstep gently shook the entire place, even making tiny waves in the small bit of water you were sat in. 

You took the time to look around at your surroundings. It was an enclosed space, mostly the color of a trout's underside. It shimmered, but in a contained way. It was all solid, like stone. Besides the small window next to the tub, too low for Lavender to easily see out of, you thought.

A silver faucet stuck out of a wall, underneath a huge reflective patch, so shiny you could see the other side of the room in it. It fascinated you, but you would have to understand where you were before you would investigate.

Hanging above the tub was a long bar crawling from one wall to the other, and hanging on multi-colored rings from it was a long sheet, faded a dusty color. You reached out and felt it between your fingers. Thick and smooth. It was lined with something that made the water from your hand just slide away.

All around were shelves, built into the room, and covered in clutter. All things, shiny and smooth and pointy, things you felt you could find anywhere, and things that looked more like the things that ended up everywhere on accident. A collection. And a great one, in your opinion.

The distant rattling got closer once again. You looked to the doorway, feeling brighter to see his face.

He stopped in the doorway after giving a cheery smile back to you. He took the end of a long object in his hands, and tugged. It unfurled to reveal a long paper, dry (of course, though it still took you by surprise) seemingly very old, and covered in squiggles.

“I FOUND IT! IT’S PROBABLY NOT VERY CORRECT ANY MORE, I FOUND IT IN THE DUMPS A LONG TIME AGO.” He suddenly seemed very bashful. “BUT JUST FIND WHERE YOU’RE FROM, AND I CAN DO A TRANSLATION INTO THE NATIVE LANGUAGE.”

You chriped, not understanding a word but wanting him to smile again.

Your wish was granted. “YES, THE INTERNET IS VERY COOL IN THAT WAY!”

He knelt down, almost to your level. The paper gave off a strong smell, not bad, but very different from the salty air and sun you were used to. You scanned the paper, looking over every strong line that led to another. It framed one strangely shaped blob, connected to another, connected to another. Then across an empty space in the center, another collection of blobs, but in different shapes. 

You glanced back to Lavender, who was waiting eagerly.

His smile drooped. “...ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE? OH MY, WHAT IF YOU LOST YOUR MEMORY AS WELL? HOW INTACT IS YOUR SKULL?!”

He looked away from you, and wiped his forehead. He inhaled, then exhaled, almost mightily. He returned to your gaze. “DON’T WORRY. YOU ARE IN THE SAFEST PLACE ON EARTH! WE WILL FIGURE THIS OUT!”

“ _ WE HAVE A  _ **_GUEST_ ** _? _ !  _ WHY WASN’T I TOLD, MY MID MORNING SPAGHETTI MUST BE REHEATED! _ ”

Lavender looked to the window.

“OH, SANS FOUND HIM!” He said happily. He got to his feet, and walked to the door. His hand around the doorknob, the door was pulled open just as the new skeleton bounded in, Sans under his arm.

“HELLO!” They shouted, just as loudly as Lavender. They picked up Sans by the hood and dumped him into the sink without looking over. Then put a hand to their chest. “I’M THE GREAT PAPYRUS, OR,  _ A  _ GREAT ONE, I SHOULD SAY!”

Lavender seemed happy. “ONE OF THE GREATEST!”

The great Papyrus posed dramatically. “THANK YOU, NARCISSISM IS THE GREATEST FORM OF FLATTERY!”

As they bantered back and forth, you got a better look at this new face. He was long, but not so tall that he had to stoop because of the ceiling. Another difference, his teeth were a normal size, and they weren’t attached with the metal contraption that Lavenders was. His eyes were less hollow, his face was less tired. The bright scarf around his neck was the same color as your fins, the rest of his clothing rounded and kind looking.

You chittered. 

Papyrus turned to face you. “SO, YOU NEED ME TO SPEAK SOME ITALIAN?” He puffed up with pride. “I’M FLATTERED YOU CAME TO ME! I’D LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF AS AN EXPERT OF THE LANGUAGE!”

He took a breath. “COME TI CHIAMI?” He waited, and all were watching you intently. 

“why you speakin’ the pizza language?” Yet another skeleton entered, doing the same thing Sans had done, appearing suddenly without any warning. He looked over to you, making eye contact. “ _ what the f- _ ”

“OH!” Lavender said, clasping his hands together. “HELLO RED! WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?”

The apparent ‘Red’ stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, looking away from you hesitantly. “i heard you were making fish. but…”

“NOPE, I’M MAKING SOUP!” Lavender suddenly perked up. “ _ MY SOUP _ ! I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!”

“chicken noodle?” Sans called after him.

“WITH DUMPLINGS!”

“oh hell yeah.” Red mumbled. He looked back to you, confusion plastered all over his face. “so uh… what’s goin’ on here?” He was shorter than Papyrus, by a lot, but seemingly taller than Sans. He was also much darker looking, either because of his shadowy clothing or because of his tense expression that never seemed to leave.

“well you see, i’m in a sink.”

Red rolled his eyelights. He didn’t say anything in response, and instead looked away from Sans and to Papyrus.

Papyrus also rolled his eyes, but was smiling. “WE HAVE A GUEST, AND WE’RE TRYING TO GUESS WHERE THEY’RE FROM SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE!”

“huh.” He said, looking you over. “where are they from?”

“WE DON’T-”

“no i mean, i’ve met every water thing back in the ‘ground, so they ain’t from waterfall. i’ve just never seen ‘em around. never seen a monster like ‘em” 

Sans looked up. “you mean you don’t know them?” 

“no?”

“we were kinda banking on that you did.”

“THERE ARE OTHER UNIVERSES, I’M SURE IF WE CALLED, SOMEONE WOULD KNOW!” Said Papyrus. Red leaned against the door.

“i mean… will they?”

Sans sighed. “i didn’t want to say it, but if none of you have a version of them in the underground, i don’t think the rest of us will.”

“HMM...YOU HAVE A POINT.” Papyrus said, scratching the back of his neck. “THAT’S GOING TO MAKE FINDING YOUR FAMILY HARDER…” He looked back at you.

You took a cupped hand of water and rubbed it onto your face, needing to re-moisten yourself but not wanting to miss any babbling.

“THEY LOOK SO SAD!” Papyrus cried, clutching his face in his hands. “DON’T FRET, NO GUEST OF OURS WILL REMAIN UNHAPPY IN OUR CARE! YOU WILL STAY WITH US UNTIL WE CAN FIND YOUR FAMILY!”

“where would we keep ‘em?” Red asked. 

“IN THE TUB!”

“don’t you need to bathe?”

“WE ALL HAVE BATHS! WE CAN TAKE TURNS!”

“that sounds like a lot of work.” Sans said, his pink slipper almost falling off of his foot. “if they will be staying with us, we might need to come up with an actual place for them.”

“NYEH!” He responded happily. Whatever it meant suited him. Suddenly he jumped upright, clattering in surprise. 

“THAT’S IT! I’M A GENIUS!” He spun to the sink. “SANS! WHAT’S FLUFFY, HOPS THROUGH MEADOWS, MAKES ME WEEP UNCONTROLLABLY, AND COULD POTENTIALLY HELP OUR NEW GUEST WITH FEELING BETTER?”

“annoying dog on moonshoes.”

“NEVERMIND. I’LL JUST GO GET IT!”

Papyrus rushed own, grabbing the doorframe and swinging away with a hearty rattle and swoosh of his scarf. 

The room was left quiet, as the two short skeletons rested in their spots. Either Sans had somehow fallen asleep in the sink, or he was holding very still with his eyes closed. Red was perched on the floor, back against the wall, looking at the tiles but also at nothing. 

It was… sort of calm. Your chest stopped racing. You were still confused, and a little nervous about everything... but it wasn’t too bad.

Whenever you had been dry before, you had always gotten uncomfortable, and with any pain you had, you always assumed that if it continued for too long, you would be gone. And yet, here you were. Was that death? No, death was permanent. Water had revived you, but not from death. You had been in a strange darkness that you couldn’t understand until you were out of it.

Whatever it was, you didn’t want to go back. And the strange smelling lukewarm water kept you out of it.

You gazed upwards, where the foam colored walls stretched into shelves. One caught your eye. It matched your scales, but more vibrant. It was like your tail when the sun caught it just right, and it glistened brightly for just a moment. Those rare colors caught in a plastic container, as tall as your head. 

You shifted, bending yourself at an awkward angle to turn your body completely around in the small tub. You scootched backwards and reached over your shoulder to grab it. 

It toppled out of your hands immediately and splashed besides you, making the loudest sound you could have imagined. Red started cackling from beyond the tub. Your head snapped to him, and saw that he was pointing at your surprised face. His laugh was loud and clattering, exposing his sharp mouth in his effort. You ignored him, the bottle was more worth your time. 

Smooth in your hands, full of what you could now see was a thick, brightly colored syrup. 

But on the side of the bottle, a very thin layer of paper was stuck onto it. But it wasn’t normal paper, that you would find partially shredded and covered in illegible symbols in the sand, it was a flat picture. It took you a moment to really understand what it was.

“what are they looking’ at? are they readin’?” Red mumbled. 

You heard Sans shrug. “nah, that’s just Lavs body wash. It’s got a picture of some beach on it.”

“who?”

“ _ beach _ , red. beach.”

“oh.” He paused. “think they live in the river then? maybe it reminds them of it.”

Sans made a sound. 

Red apparently understood. “well then how the hell did they end up here?”

You put the end of the bottle into your mouth, trying to pry it open with your teeth. 

You heard Red stood up. “whoah ho ho, calm down razor face. stars, you seeing this shit??”

“they probably shouldn’t be doing that.” Sans responded as you gagged. Something suddenly tasted terrible. Maybe if you kept biting at the bottle it would stop.

Your head turned to see Red approaching you. “i got this.” He said, with confidence and amusement in his voice as he looked over you.

You curiously kept chewing, wondering what he was going to do.

He reached over you, grabbing at the clean, shining knob at the other end of the tub. Before you could react, the sky began to fall.

You spluttered as water fell heavily down onto you, like intense rain. Actually, no. Intense rain you could handle,  _ hot _ intense rain you could not. 

Warmth wasn’t foreign to you. But usually when the heat got too intense, the water was there to cool you. Now the water was the source, leaving you panicked.

Your eyes shot open, immediately stinging from the heat. You dropped the bottle with a loud thud and slash, baring your teeth and hissing at the Red blur. 

A dark blue appeared next to the red in an instant, and as suddenly as it started the hot rain disappeared. You shook your head, letting your wet hair fling around, whipping at your face. 

“I FOUN- WHAT HAPPENED?! I WAS GONE FOR A MINUTE!”

You pushed the wet hair out of your face just in time to see the tall skeleton lean down and wrap your scalp in one of the fabrics hanging from the wall. You blinked and watched Papyrus, immediately calming. The way he rubbed the fabric against your soaked head, sometimes pulling slightly at your hair, but you could see in his eye sockets he meant well. 

“THERE WE GO!” He beamed. “THESE TOWELS ARE NICE!”

“ _ THANK YOU! _ ” Lavender called from the other room. You had forgotten he was so close. 

Sans had ended up in the sink again without you noticing. He rested his chin on his hand between his legs. “geez red, why so hotheaded?”

“ _ NO _ -”

“well  _ sorry _ ,” Red interrupted. “maybe i like to be warm when i shower. don’t you?”

Papyrus seemed intrigued now. “WELL… YES. BUT I USUALLY WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END, SO THE HEAT CAN STAY IN MY BONES UNTIL I’M WEARING MY CLOTHES!” He tapped his chin. You liked the tapping. “THEN, I’M IN MY PAJAMAS, AND I CAN GET UNDER MY COVERS IF I’M STILL CHILLY!”

He took out a small flat object he had tucked under one arm, smiling proudly. “THAT’S WHEN THIS LITTLE THING COMES IN HANDY!”

“fluffy bunny?” Sans asked. 

Red nodded. “good taste.” 

“YES! THE RIVETING TALE OF A RABBIT TAKEN FAR FROM HOME, AND THE SOUL SEARCHING JOURNEY BACK TO THE DANDELION FIELD!” Papyrus clutched at his chest painfully. “TRULY A MASTERPIECE OF IT’S TIME…”

“and that’s your plan for making them feel better?” Red asked. “that...might work actually.”

_ “ _ **_WHAT MIGHT WORK_ ** ?” 

Red jumped, turning around to the door. But no one was there. You could hear the slight breeze of the outside world from beyond the tub rooms wall. 

“ _ HELLO ED _ -!” 

Something slammed, and the breeze disappeared. “ _ WHERE IS MY BROTHER _ ,  _ I HEARD HIS VOICE. _ ”

“ _ IN THE BATHROOM WITH THE ORIGINALS _ !” Lavender replied helpfully.

Without another word, something tromped across the unseen threshold. Something big, to match the voice, you thought. 

The door slammed open, bouncing against the wall loudly. No one seemed to care, and you were the only one who really reacted more than a head turn.

In the doorway stood yet another tall skeleton. This one was...considerably sharper than the others. 

“HELLO EDGE. WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?”

“I NEED MY BROTHER FOR-” Once again, the new skeleton who entered locked eyes with you. He was glaring, so you glared back.

“...WHAT-”

“uh boss, we’re kind of in the middle of something.” Red said, suddenly looking very sweaty.

This didn’t seem to comfort ‘Edge’ in any way. “WH-...WHAT IS  _ HAPPENING _ ?! WHY WASN'T I TOLD- _ WHO’S THE FISH _ ?!” 

“relax edge.” Sans said.

Papyrus crossed his arms. “YEAH! WE’RE JUST HELPING OUR NEW GUEST. WE FIGURED YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED.” 

“WELL WHAT EVEN ARE THEY? SOME SORT OF  _ DEFORMED _ HUMAN?”

“WE’RE NOT ENTIRELY SURE! THEY DON’T SPEAK ANY LANGUAGES WE KNOW, AND DON’T SEE TO HAVE ANY CONCEPT OR WHAT’S GOING ON!”

“...EXCUSE ME?”

“yeah it’s a little weird.” Sans shrugged. 

“THAT’S ONE WAY OF PUTTING IT.” The tall one sneered. He looked down at you, glaring. You stared back. Red seemed...nervous. You didn’t like it.

“WELL, WHAT IS IT DOING HERE?” He snarled. “WE’RE LEAVING TOMORROW, WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE HELPING A STRANGER.”

“well we can’t just leave ‘em hanging boss.” Red said, if you weren’t mistaken, slightly unsure.

“WELL I THINK IT’S STUPID.”

Papyrus jumped at this. “WHICH IS WHY WERE TRYING TO COMFORT THEM! IF THEY’RE COMFORTABLE, IT’LL BE EASIER TO FIND A WAY TO COMMUNICATE!”

“OR-” This person said. “WE COULD BEAT IT OUT OF THEM.”

_ “OH STARS _ .” You heard Lavender say under his breath from the other room. 

You say Papyrus’s eyelights grow slightly, and his smile turned just a little more clever. “GOSH EDGE, I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE INCAPABLE OF COMFORTING.”

“such a shame.” Sans added, catching on immediately.

Edge’s expression dropped. “WHAT-”

“YOU BASICALLY JUST ADMITTED TO IT. YOU CAN’T COMFORT, SO YOU HAVE TO FIGHT. PRETTY SAD, ACTUALLY.”

“YES I CAN.” Edge said. 

“i mean...can you?” Sans asked. Edge spun to face his flopped form in the sink. 

“YES I CAN!” He stomped his heeled boot onto the floor. “I’LL PROVE IT!” 

Papyrus crossed his arms again and turned his back to Edge, sticking the small book under his shoulder directly in Edges view. “PFFT. LIKE YOU COULD READ TO THEM. I  _ DOUBT _ IT.”

Edge growled, and grabbed the book out of Papyrus’s hand, not seeing his satisfied grin. “ **FINE** . I’LL PLAY YOUR GAME.” He flipped the book around and made a face. “FLUFFY BUNNY? WHAT ARE YOU, SEVEN?” 

He tossed it behind him, Sans catching it in his hand in one swift motion. You caught Red rolling his eyelights behind Edges back.

“NO, I WILL BE READING SOMETHING CLASSY. SOMETHING  _ GOOD _ .” He opened the door quickly, and stepped out of your sight.

“ _ LET’S SEE _ …” Edge mumbled. Distantly you could hear something bubbling, and even quieter, Lavender was humming to himself. “ _ WHY SO MANY DOCTOR SEUSS BOOKS?” _

“ _ INSPIRATION. _ ” Lavender simply replied.

“ _ FAIR ENOUGH. _ ” There was more trifling, like of a collection. Edge groaned loudly. “ _ THIS WILL HAVE TO DO I SUPPOSE _ .” He said resoundingly and tromped back to the bathroom. 

“ALL OF YOU GET OUT. I’M NOT HERE TO ENTERTAIN YOU.”

Red put up his hands and immediately left. Papyrus followed, grabbing a snoozing Sans in the sink by the ankle, tossing him over his shoulder like a sack.

Edge waited impatiently, tapping his foor loudly. Right before he shut the door, you distinctly heard Red mutter, “that smells good.”

He slammed the door shut. He stared down at you, clutching a book the same color as his torn scarf, which was a few shades darker than Papyrus’s. 

Alone with the pointy angry one. How comforting.

“I DON’T FEEL LIKE READING YET. WHY DON’T  _ YOU _ READ THE FIRST CHAPTER FOR ME?”

He smirked and tossed the book towards you. It landed cleanly on the tub wall, stopping just before it would have fallen into the water. You tentatively poked at it, pulling one cover off of it to reveal another layer, of old sandy colored paper. 

  
  


You looked back at him. He groaned. Clearly unhappy with you. You didn’t mind too much.

He snatched the book back from you. “GIVE THAT TO ME. LOOK, THAT LETTER, WHAT DOES THAT SAY?”

His finger was resting directly over the first word of the first block of them. One letter was much bigger than the others. 

You were silent. He huffed. 

“STARS, WHO RAISED YOU?  _ S _ . THE LETTER IS S. AND  _ S SAYS- _ ” He filled the statement with a hiss. He jabbed at the paper, and hissed again. 

“Es. Sssssss.” You said, unsure and alarmed. 

“GOOD.” He shifted his finger over slightly. “NOW, WHAT DOES THIS SAY?”

You were quiet again. 

“UGH, OF COURSE.  _ E. _ EEE.  _ E SAYS EH _ .”

“Eee. Eh, eh.”

He moved his finger once more, looking sternly over the top of the pages at you. This time he didn’t wait to explain. 

You repeated him, feeling more confident. “Arr. Ruh.”

He slid his finger over once again. For a moment you looked at the symbol, trying to recall. 

“...Eee.”

And again.

“ _ N _ . N SAYS NUH.”

“Nn. Nuh.”

And again. “LAST ONE.” He said.

“Eee.” You didn’t need reminding.

He turned the book back to himself. “GOOD. NOW, WHAT CAME AFTER THE LAST  _ E _ ?”

You were silent, staring up at his long, angry looking skull. So pointy. 

“STARS.” He scoffed, turning it back to you. “LOOK, THAT, WHAT IS THAT?”

His finger was tapping the page, but  _ differently _ . It wasn’t at any letter, just the nothing in between the S word and the next one, a word without any letters you knew. He moved his finger back to the S word.

“THAT’S THE WORD. THE BLANK SPACE MEANS  _ THE WORD  _ IS OVER.”

“‘Lank space?”

“YES. WHAT DOES THE BLANK SPACE SAY?”

You stared up at him again. His words were a gamble, unlike the others who made things simple. Some were recognizable, and you had a vague feeling about what they might have meant. But with him, his tone rarely changed. It was hard and brittle, and you got the feeling that even when he was happy he would still look mean. 

“GOOD!” He said, sounding proud. Of you or of him, you did not know.

You hadn’t said anything, and that was right? That was easy. Feeling slightly more sure in yourself, you reached out and tapped the first jumble of letters, leaving a droplet of water to seep through the paper.

You chirped. 

“SERENE.” He said, immediately understanding what you wanted. “IT MEANS GOOD, OR BEAUTIFUl.” He said, waving a gloved hand dramatically. “S-E-R-E-N-E.”

Good. That was a happy word. Beautiful, good,  _ serene _ . “Es ar-”

“ _ WRONG _ . REPEAT AFTER ME!” He flipped the book back to you, rapping the page with command. “ _ S-E-R-E-N-E _ .” He glared down at you, in wait. 

You understood. “...S-e-r-e-n-e.”

“SERENE.”

“Serene!” 

He puffed up with pride, shutting the book loudly in one hand. “INCREDIBLE. I’M A BETTER TEACHER THAN I THOUGHT!”

You bubbled, laughed. He was scary, but he was fun. You took your hand and placed it on his chest. “Serene Edge.” Good, beautiful.

He froze, his eye sockets wide and his eyelights small. You took your hand away, leaving a watery hand print over his stiff top. He seemed to snap out of his dazed state, and began frantically wiping at himself. 

“ _ FISH _ !” He yelled exasperatedly, avoiding eye contact. Had his face always been that tint? “I THINK I’VE IMPRESSED MYSELF ENOUGH FOR TODAY.” 

Suddenly he was standing, holding the book and turning quickly away. You squawked.

He turned back. “WHAT?”

You slapped the edges of the tub excitedly. “Word!”

He looked at you for a moment, before groaning loudly. “YOU...WANT ME TO DO MORE? I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED.” He plopped down onto the tub, flipping the book back open to the first page. “BUT I’M NOT GOING TO BOTHER ANY MORE WITH TEACHING, I’LL LEAVE THAT TO THE LESSER VERSIONS.”

You chirped happily, glad that you weren’t going to be alone. 

“I’LL READ TO YOU, ONLY BECAUSE YOU’RE CLEARLY DESPERATE FOR MY PRESENCE. AS MOST ARE.”

You gazed at his shiny clothing, that crinkled like dark waves where his body was bent. 

“BUT DON’T EXPECT THIS KIND OF TREATMENT EVERYDAY. I’M JUST CURIOUS OF THE... _ PLOT _ .” 

“Plot.”

He made a noise with whatever was acting as his throat, his glowing eyelights settling onto the page. 

“BOOK ONE.” 

“CHAPTER ONE,”

“ _ SERENE WAS A WORD YOU COULD PUT TO BROOKLYNE NEW YORK. ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER OF 1912. SOMBER, AS A WORD, WAS BETTER.” _

He spoke clearly, not putting any emphasis on any words. Clearly and confidently, like he was hardly reading at all.

“ _ LATE IN THE AFTERNOON THE SUN SLANTED DOWN INTO THE MOSSY YARD BELONGING TO FRANCIE NOLAN’S HOUSE, AND WARMED THE WORN WOODEN FENCE. LOOKING AT THE SHAFTED SUN, FRANCIE HAD THAT SAME FINE FEELING THAT CAME WHEN SHE RECALLED THE POEM THEY RECITED IN SCHOOL. _ ” 

You adjusted yourself, resting your chin on the edge of the tub next to him. You listened happily, bubbling up when you recognised a word.

“ _ THE ONE TREE IN FRANCIE’S YARD WAS NEITHER A PINE NOR A HEMLOCK _ -”

“Tee.”

“CORRECT.”

“ _ THERE’S A TREE THAT GROWS IN BROOKLYN. SOME PEOPLE CALL IT THE TREE OF HEAVEN. NO MATTER WHERE IT’S SEED FALLS, IT MAKES A TREE WHICH STRUGGLED TO REACH THE SKY. IT GROWS IN BOARDED UP LOTS AND OUT OF NEGLECTED RUBBISH HEAPS _ .”

“ _ IT GROWS OUT OF CELLAR GRATINGS. IT IS THE ONLY TREE THAT GROWS OUT OF CEMENT. IT GROWS LUSHLY, SURVIVES WITHOUT SUN, WATER, AND SEEMINGLY WITHOUT EARTH. IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED BEAUTIFUL EXCEPT THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY OF IT. _ ”

“ _ THAT WAS THE KIND OF TREE IN FRACIES YARD _ .”

He paused, looking down at you. You were laying contently by his side, eyes half shut, happily listening to the strange jumble of sounds that came from him. They seemed meaningful, even if to you they held no meaning. 

He continued on. Something about a Francie. Something with a ‘Francie’ and a street with a funny name, ‘nickels’, ‘penny’, ‘Storefront’.

“ _ CHEAP CHARLIE WAS NOT CHEAP AND HIS NAME WASN’T CHARLIE. HE HAD TAKEN THAT NAME AND IT SAID SO ON THE STORE’S SIGN AND FRANCIE BELIEVED IT. CHARLIE GAVE YOU A PICK FOR YOUR PENNY. THERE WERE A FEW FINE PRIZES; ROLLER SKATES, A CATCHER’S MITT, A DOLL WITH REAL HAIR AND SO MANY MORE. _ ”

He continued on longer. Whoever this Francie person was kept up with things unknown to you. With every page turn you felt calmer. The hot water dumped on you had cooled, and now it was almost comfortable. 

You found the soap bottle from the water, squeezing it in your hands. The picture was wrong, but familiar enough to feel safe.

Your keen ears picked up on the faint sound of rattling skeleton, but not from the one beside you. You sat up slowly, peering towards the small gap where the door was partially ajar. As Francie left the store and followed the other children around, you listened intently to the other side of the door, where the fuzzy floor muffled whoever was there.

“ _ AFTER AWHILE FRANCIE GOT TIRED OF WATCHING THEM. SHE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD FIGHT AND SHOW OFF UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO DRIFT HOME FOR SUPPER. _ ” He glanced back to you. “WHAT ARE YOU-” He followed your gaze at the door, his sockets narrowing. His jacket audibly shifted as he stood, the book spread open in one hand.

“ _ IT WAS NEARLY TWO O’CLOCK _ .” He read, inching towards the door. “ _ THE LIBRARIAN SHOULD BE BACK FROM LUNCH BY NOW _ .” 

He wrapped his boney hand around the knob, completely silent. “ _ WITH PLEASANT ANTICIPATION _ -” 

The door suddenly pulled inward, and a crowd of monsters jumped back. 

He grimaced. Closing the book with one hand with a soft thud. “ _ FRANCIE WALKED TOWARD THE LIBRARY _ .”

Everyone was standing before the open door, looking surprised but not guilty.

Sans smiled up at him. “heya edge. what happens next?”

“NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE, BESIDES INTERFERING WITH MY  _ MASTERFUL _ TEACHINGS?” Edge crossed his arms. You watched intently. 

“uh, boss, this  _ is _ lav’s place.” Red said, looking away and slurping a noodle out of a large green bowl. 

“IT IS!” Lavender agreed, grinning widely. “SEE? THE CURTAINS MATCH MY BRACES!”

Edge stepped through the door, tossing the thick book into Reds arms, who tucked it under his arm. He tromped away, out of your sight. 

“ENOUGH OF YOUR ADORABLE ANTICS. I NEED TO PRACTICE.” He grumbled. “I PRESUME MY CLOTHING IS ALL BACK?”

Lavender beamed towards where you remembered the front door to be. “OF COURSE! MY BROTHER ALSO PULLED YOUR CARAVAN OUT FRONT!”

“stars i always forget how strong he is.” Sans said.

Red nodded without looking up from the book, picking at his sharp fangs. “terrifying.” 

“Teeth!” You shouted, unsure of what else to do. Red turned his attention to you, slightly amused.

“well look at that. the polliwog’s learnin’ already.”

“WOWIE!” A booming Papyrus cried. You looked up and saw that the missing skeleton had stuck his head through the small window besides the tub. “I DIDN’T TEACH THEM THAT WORD, THEY MUST HAVE JUST PICKED IT UP!” He turned his head to face Sans, who had crossed the threshold towards his brother. “SANS, DID YOU HEAR THAT??”

“yeah.” He smiled lazily. “hopefully soon we can get to know you better kid. don’t wanna get your friends worried.”

He was clearly speaking to you. It was kind, gentle, even. But there were no words that you recognized. One did stick out to you, maybe he spoke it differently. 

“Fffffffriends.” 

His smile never disappeared, but something was different. Amusement? Pride? He was so hard to read. You were surprisingly good at picking up cues, but Sans was a challenge.

“YES, FRIENDS! THE PEOPLE YOU COOK FOOD FOR AND HOPE DON’T STUB THEIR TOES!”

“friends make you happy.” 

Papyrus leaned his head through the window, and pointed a gloved hand towards his teeth. “FRIENDS MAKE HAPPY!” And smiled broadly. But you already knew the word.

“Friends make ‘appy.” That made sense. 

You smacked at the water. 

“THAT IS WATER!” Papyrus leaned down and slapped the water joyfully. “TUB WATER SPECIFICALLY!”

“Wahter.” You bubbled. That was a funny word. “Water friend.”

“NO BUT ALMOST!” Papyrus said. “WATER IS NOT A FRIEND. A FRIEND IS A PERSON!”

“like uhhh…. me and paps,” Sans gestured to his chest then the window, then he leaned onto the counter so you could see behind him to the rest of the place. “and red, if you’re into it.”

“ehh?” Red noised, looking up from the pages of the book. 

“Red friend?” You muttered.

“... _ elmo _ ??” Red responded incredulously. Somehow you felt that whatever he had said wasn’t right.

“yes, red is a friend.” Sans said, chuckling. 

He shuffled closer to you, hands in his pockets. “red, edge, lavender, undyne, alphys, paps, me,” He listed. “we’re all here for you kid. we’re all friends.”

Friends. A person. A good person? All the names he had said were names that you considered good. But they weren’t the only good names.

“...Orange and Blue. Friends.”

As you spoke you could visibly see Sans change. Not by very much, but he was more… expressive than he was before. Sudden realization, maybe.

“...DID… DO THEY KNOW-” Papyrus nyehed.

“the orange and blue...that live by the  _ ocean _ ?” Red muttered, looking at you, both unsure and somehow very aware.

You turned away to fiddle with the bottle more, letting the babble wash over you like the waves on the label. What they were saying you didn’t know, but you felt safe enough to not pay any attention.

After all, Sans had said you all were friends. 

And you believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the book Edge reads is not mine! It is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" By Betty Smith. I like the book a alot, but of course I can't include everything that happens in the story in mine. If You are interested, please consider buying or pirating the book! It's a wonderful read that gives me a lot of emotions.
> 
> Congrats to everyone who guessed classic Sans and Horrortale Papyrus! You are correct!
> 
> Yeah Horrortale Paps is like a grandma. Everyone loves him. I love him. You love him. 
> 
> Y'all thought underswap was here? Nope! Several dozen miles away, at sea, wondering where you are. 
> 
> More info will come in chapters to come obvs, i didn't want this chapter to be more of a mess than it already is.


	5. This place is nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up, still in the tub. You decide this will not do.

Bones and skin, muscle, reserves of fat, eyelashes stiff and harder than they should have been. 

Cold, shining in the dull light, textured like the rocky sea floor. A powerful tail, truly a sight to behold dodging your gaze in the reefs. 

But the reefs are no longer in sight. 

And the sand wasn’t being dug,

And the fishermen would vaguely wonder what had changed.

Despite how hearty, how unafraid, how hopeful, how _determined_ , even,

You are still, quite literally, a fish out of water.

...

  
  


Yawning through your mouth was strange. You hardly ever slept anywhere other than at the bottom of the deepest crevice you could manage. But now, your face less than half submerged in the shallow tub, your mouth was your main option. 

You could vaguely remember waking up several times during the night, confused, and practically drowning in the air you had tried to breath the wrong way. But, covering your neck seemed to trick your drowsy instincts. It also lead to a few dreams where you were buried in sand and couldn’t dig out, but it was still sleep.

You sat up and scrubbed the drier half of your head again, already used to your new waking up routine. How had you managed to sleep there through the night in the first place? It hardly was big enough for you sitting, and laying was pure agony after a while.

You hadn’t been awake for too long. You had gone to sleep earlier than you normally did yesterday.

What had even happened yesterday? It was just a blur of different monsters coming in and talking to you. Asking questions, looking for things on their little screens, pointing pictures out

and trying to see if you knew them.

It was tiring. No wonder you fell asleep.

But… now what? 

Back home, there was always something to do. You had things to chase and things to find. You had places you needed to swim to, and things to unbury from where you vaguely remembered putting them. The repetitive motions, the schedule you barely recognized as your own, it kept you sane. The moment you awoke, there were things that needed doing. 

The dim room was sparse, besides the towel rack and the few figurines on the sink. There were bottles of “soap” before in the little shelves around the tub, but they were taken away after you tried to eat another. 

You leaned over past the tub curtains to the small window. It had been closed at some point last night, but you could still see the dewy grass through it. 

The light shining through had been your entertainment for awhile, watching it slowly fill up the room. But now you were bored, and wanted to be anywhere else.

You closed your eyes and listened. 

... nothing.

No crashing waves, no footsteps, no far off music, no bones clanking together, no voices.

You sighed. It was nice being around them all. They were all sleeping soundly somewhere, just out of your ears reach and you were here, feeling every joint in your body get sore.

You opened your eyes, and glanced over the tubs edge. The wide open floor never looked so inviting. 

All you wanted was to just stretch. That wasn’t something you should be limited to. 

You leaned over, and pressed your palms into the tile. You slowly walked forward, letting the rest of you fall out bit by bit. Finally, you flexed your tail and plopped onto the ground.

Ahhh. Refreshing.

You stretched up, your knuckles grazing against the doorframe. Something popped in your shoulder, and you regained a tingly sense in your lower spine. 

You flipped to your back, stretching even more. 

Wonderful. 

“...”

You were bored again. 

You turned back to your stomach, and curled up to stare at the door. The knob just needed to be pulled down to open. But, or course, surely it wouldn’t be easy-

_ Click _

The door swung open soundlessly. The shadowy beyond let in a cool draft. You could see another wall opposite of you, with another window letting in more light. Bits of dust floated through the sun, undisturbed.

“...”

Well now that the door was open, it did no one any good for you to just _ look _ . You pushed yourself up and dragged your body along. 

Using your arms to do much of anything wasn’t your specialty, but on the smooth floor it was easy enough. You stopped, your shoulders aching already.

Just beyond the door were large, boxy shapes the color of sand. Beyond those was an even taller box that hummed tunelessly and felt cool to the touch. Across the room a huge shapeless mass sat on the floor, directly opposing the sunlight. It took you a moment to see it was another piece of furniture. 

Despite any other things, besides a circular rug you pushed aside to make room, the room was empty. Though somehow it still felt cluttered. In a nice way. 

Then, on one wall, there was another door. It was already opened, showing an extension to where you already were. Practically an invitation.

Curse your need to explore you thought, while dragging yourself in. 

You stopped while halfway through. This...was hardly a room. You had never been in a room before yesterday, and you knew this wasn’t a room.

You were already surrounded by walls. It was narrow, and led to nothing. Though one wall was different looking than the other, it was more like a-

This wasn’t a wall.

You craned your head up. This was not a wall, it was...something plush, but firm. You reached up, balancing on one palm, and found the top. No, the room was much bigger, you had just been blocked off by whatever this thing was.

You grabbed onto the edge, thankfully not slipping as your already tired arms pulled you up enough to see over.

It was just a big, soft, box. It was covered in sheets and soft cushions, cozy little things that you felt belonged here. And in the middle was a cocooned skeleton, eyes shut.

So! Lavender slept here. It was much more comfortable than the tub, though it was also very dry. Mystery solved. This box, this place in general, this was where Lavender stayed. The others must have been somewhere else, sleeping in similar soft places.

He took a breath. 

His hand rose to the air, reaching for nothing, then fell. He gritted his teeth so hard you could hear it. 

His breathing got faster. He curled up into himself. Something formed on his forehead and dripped down slowly. 

What was he doing? Was he alright?

He suddenly straightened. 

The bed started to glow, like water had been poured all over it. It was warm. 

You pushed him. He opened his mouth, then clamped down again. You shoved him, so hard he rattled against himself.

His eyes opened. The bed stopped glowing. And for a moment he just layed there, staring up at the ceiling. 

He sprang up, his eyes so dim they didn’t illuminate anything farther than his teeth. 

He stared at you, but at nothing too, squeezing into his soft blanket.

“... **_HUMAN_ ** …”

What a voice. Not his. You didn’t know him more than his uncomfortable smile, but you knew that this wasn’t him either.

“... _ Okay. Okay, okay _ ?” You said, over and over. 

His eyelights grew brighter, and he suddenly was there with you. 

“Okay, okay?” What other words were there? “Sereeene…. Gooooood. Hah-py! Okay,  _ okay _ ?  _ Water _ , okay?” You chittered your teeth, remembering how Orange had smiled when you did it before.

Darkness. It was so warm in here.

The rattling subsided.

“....YOU.”

“IT’S JUST... _ YOU _ .” 

He sat up slowly. You watched him intently, as he threw the sheet off of his legs revealing new clothes from yesterday. Much softer looking, but still just as cheerful. He leaned back and adjusted the coverings on the wall. He fiddled with it, and suddenly it flickered to life. 

You squealed without meaning to, the sunlight streaming through the opened slats. He smiled tiredly. 

“THEY’RE BLINDS. THEY BLOCK THE SUN WHEN I WANT THEM TO.” 

“’Lock the sun.”

He peeked through the blinds, brightening. “CORRECT. BUT RIGHT NOW I’M HAPPY WITH IT.”

Something was wrong with him. He smiled, but with the better light it was more clear than ever that it wasn’t very strong. His smile quivered, like he was in pain. 

You grappled closer to him, pressing your forehead to the thing closest to you, which happened to be his knee. It clattered almost comically, but you hoped it made him feel better.

“WHAT ARE YOU- OH.” He paused, and you could feel him shake. “YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT.”

You shook your head, making him rattle. It was more like you were grinding your face into his kneecap, but you weren’t exactly familiar with helping anyone with emotions in any capacity. You cooed. 

“... _ THAT’S VERY KIND OF YOU _ .” He looked down at his hands. 

Both of you sat in silence. Your eyes clenched tight. Somewhere outside, through the  _ blinds, _ a bird squawked. It sounded like a gull.

“I SUPPOSE I SHOULD RETURN THE FAVOR.”

He smiled down at you. It seemed normal.

…

“STARS, YOU LEFT A SNAIL TRAIL THROUGH THE WHOLE HALLWAY.”

You grabbed the edge of the tub and tried to pull yourself up. You quickly lost traction and flopped back onto the tile floor. Whatever, you were still in a puddle.

Lavender came in after you. “YOU COULD HAVE JUST CALLED FOR ME. THOUGH I WILL ADMIT IT IS IMPRESSIVE HOW FAR YOU GOT WITH JUST YOUR UPPER BODY.”

You stared up at him, half of your face pressed into the cold floor. 

“YOU CLEARLY WANT OUT OF THE TUB. BUT WE DON’T WANT ANYONE SLIPPING.” He glanced over to the towel rack. “...WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?”

You raised your tail slightly and let it plop back down. 

He grabbed two of the towels off of the rack. “I HAVE ORANGE, BLUE-”

You sat up happily. “Orange an Blue!”

“... _ THIS IS PROBABLY VERY CONFUSING TO YOU _ .” He set the towels down. “WELL. YOU’RE MADE UP OF MOSTLY WARM COLORS. HOW ABOUT A RED ONE?”

“Red!”

He carefully chose another towel. “LOOK, IT MATCHES YOU.” He knelt down as close to you as he could and offered a corner. 

It was so similar to your scales. Yours were more complex, they weren’t just one solid shade like the towel. But if you squinted they practically blended into each other. 

“...Red..?”

He nodded happily. “LANGUAGE IS STRANGE, I KNOW. BUT RED IS ALSO THIS.” He tapped the towel. 

Nothing made sense. Everything was confusing. You turned to your back and considered life. 

Lavender leaned over you, which for his height must have been easy, and dropped the towel into the tub with a plop. He turned the knob, and the shower head sprang to life. 

It was only on for a moment, as Lavender picked up the towel and held it under the spray of water. When he turned it off, it was darker, and dripping. He squeezed it once, and then turned back to you.

“HERE.” You sat up, and he put the heavy bundle in your arms. “THIS SHOULD KEEP YOU WET, AND YOU CAN STILL MOVE AROUND.”

You immediately understood, and tried to wrap it around yourself. You fell over again.

He looked down at you sympathetically. “COME HERE. I DON’T MIND THE COUCH GETTING WET AND IT’S DEFINITELY MORE COMFORTABLE THAN THERE.”

He scooped you up in one arm, and with the other grabbed the towel and draped it around your neck. It was warm, but not in a smothering way you would have expected. And from what you could tell, it worked.

He held you so easily. You didn’t even bother holding on in any way, and he still just stepped softly without any thought of dropping you. Like an infant. 

The ground gently shook as he pushed open the bathroom door. You finally got a proper look at the rest of the place, and from a good angle as well. The walls were lined with shelves, filled to the brim with little trinkets and treasures. And the few empty spaces of the wall were plastered in photos.

On top of the strange sandy boxes you had passed earlier was a long smooth surface, neatly polished. And in the middle was another sink, but much bigger than the one in the tub room, and full of familiar-looking bowls. You reached out to graze a spoon handle as you passed by.

“HERE WE ARE.” Lavender smiled down at you. Even from such a strange angle you trusted him. “IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK, OKAY LITTLE FISH?” 

He knelt down, holding you close for just a second before slowly lowering you onto something soft, but cool.

“THE COUCH IS PLEATHER IF YOU’RE WORRIED.”

You cooed up at him. 

“...NO, YOU PROBABLY DON’T CARE AT ALL.”

You flipped around on this new surface as he walked to the sink. How… interesting. Like the soft sand just off of the coast, but with more give. It was cold against your exposed skin, but it warmed up very quickly. It was...what was the word? Nice.

You pressed your face against it. Maybe the tub hadn’t been the best place you had ever slept. Maybe you needed to rest in this new space before you would do anything else.

…

Mmm

Combfy.

...

Something. Something was happening. 

Something was moving. Closer. 

Your eyes refused to open. Your ears refused to go to sleep. 

The door, the front door. It opened. Something was here. 

Lavender… they were here too. They turned.

“...”

You heard him smile. 

“I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER SHOW UP.” 

He seemed to be trying to be quieter. Whoever else was there didn’t respond.

“DID YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP?”

There was nothing, then a soft sound of bone. A nod, from another skeleton.

Again silence.

“OH, THEY WOKE ME UP.” Lavender said, clearly happy.

You heard a soft grumbling in response. You kept yourself turned away, although curious, you felt that you should let them talk without worrying about you. Plus, you were tired.

“NO, I THINK THEY ONLY WOKE ME BECAUSE THEY SAW I WAS HAVING A... YOU KNOW.” Lavender stopped. 

There was quiet. Communication without words.

“NOTHING...  _ BAD _ .” He stepped aside and was back at the hot box. “JUST... US, BACK THERE. DOING WHAT WE ALWAYS DID. I WAS HARDLY A NIGHTMARE.”

He stirred the contents of the pot again. The air smelled different. Not bad, but certainly not anything you had ever smelled before. It made the whole place feel warmer, in a good way.

“EVEN SO, I’M NOT MAD AT THEM IN THE SLIGHTEST. I’D RATHER BE AWAKE THAN BACK.”

“... _ never mad _ .”

Your eyes shot open. That was much deeper than you were expecting. That was the growl of something big and bad, and every instinct you had was telling you to swim away. But of course, the much more rational part of your brain knew that if Lavender trusted the deep, scary predator, there was no reason for you not to. And even if you could swim, which you couldn’t, you had a gut feeling that it would catch you immediately. 

So, you did nothing. And although you were still in the same position, still just as vulnerable, you felt safer. If you had to convince yourself, you could just say you were playing dead.

Lavender laughed softly. “I TRY. I’M ALMOST DONE WITH THE OATMEAl. DO YOU WANT POWDERED SUGAR, OR CINNAMON?”

More quiet.

“...both.”

“IF I DIDN’T LOVE YOU SO MUCH I’D CRITIQUE YOUR SWEET TOOTH.”

Even softer laughter, that still somehow cut you deep with fear. 

“IT’S A BUSY DAY. DO YOU WANT A HELP WITH ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING?”

Another mumble. You could feel it in the air. The time you had spent near the beach had you accustomed to voices, but these were different. Especially this newcomer. Who seemed to take up so much space with just his throat alone. Even though he was clearly trying to be quiet, at least you assumed so, you could not take your attention away from him. Just the instincts of the prey, you supposed.

From somewhere outside, another voice called. 

“ _ EDGE I JUST DID SEVENTY LAPS AROUND THE CAMP. TRY AND BEAT THAT _ !”

The polite and familiar voice was responded to by huffs and screams of defiance, which you also recognized. So the two tall skeletons were awake, and by the sounds of it, exercising.

“...i should...go.”

“YOU’RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO STAY LONGER SANS. THEY’D BE HAPPY TO SIT WITH YOU.”

The predator made a sound, low in its chest. Like a yell micromanaged down to a scream without a voice.

“...need to..water the carrots.”

Lavender sighed. “...OKAY. MAKE SURE THEY’RE STRAPPED DOWN TOO. WE’RE DRIVING TODAY.”

No noises again.

You could hear the smile in his voice. “THIS WILL BE EXCITING. SO MANY NEW PLACES.” He paused, and you could hear him stepping towards it. “... _ WE’RE LUCKY TO SEE IT ALL _ .” 

Nothing followed for a long time. Just a long expanse of silence. But...it felt safe. Like warmth, like comfortability, like…

Something else entirely. Something you didn’t know. 

“...left fruit on the picnic table.” The thing broke the silence. It sounded less, off put, maybe.

Lavender stepped back. “I’LL BE SURE TO GET THEM FOR THE OTHERS BREAKFAST.” Another pause. “TAKE YOURS NOW, SO IT’S STILL WARM.”

There was a clinking of dishes, then a gruff sounding noise you couldn’t imagine was an actual word. The huge beast stepped away, opening the door and stepping through it. It felt like days before you felt safe enough to sit up, your eyes wide.

Lavender was still standing at the counter, stirring that same pot. Everything was the way it was before. 

Had you imagined it? He couldn’t have survived such a thing with just words, when not a bone in his body sounded afraid.

Maybe… you were just too afraid. Maybe he had survived because there had been no threat to begin with.

Maybe the beast was just another skeleton. A big, frighteningly powerful sounding one. 

You exhaled. Lavender turned to face you staring disgruntled at the carpet.

“OH YOU’RE AWAKE AGAIN!” He looked back to the pot, and ladled the steaming contents into a small dish besides it. “FORGIVE ME, I DON’T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT YOU EAT. I JUST MADE HUMAN STYLE FOOD.”

“Food?”

He nodded, and tapped the ladle against the side of the pot. “IT’S OATMEAL. OAT- _ MEEL _ .”

“Oatmeeeel.”

“AMAZING!” He beamed and handed you the cup. It was warm in your hands. “I DIDN’T GIVE YOU A LOT, BUT THERE’S MORE IF YOU WANT.”

He strode across the room. A bowl of shining bells by the door clanged together. 

“I’LL BE RIGHT BACK, OKAY?”

“Ohkay.”

He opened the door and walked out. After a few steps he was gone.

...It was quiet again. 

Outside there was more yelling and conversations you couldn’t make out. You looked down at the cup. I was ceramic, slightly misshapen compared to the other dishes on the counter. An uneven handle was stuck to the side. On the front there were symbols overtop of a large, shining symbol. It looked like the sun.

S 

O

M

E

D

A

Y

Not many letters you knew. Maybe it said sun, if you were right about the drawing. 

The contents of the cup, the “Oatmeal” was very warm. It looked like a wetter version of a pile of rocks you knew. You stuck your finger in curiously, ignoring the heat. 

Nevermind. It was more liquid than solid. 

You tentatively put your fingers to your lips. 

It was…. Not meat. Despite how obvious it was, it hit you that you hadn’t exactly tasted anything that wasn’t meat before. You had tasted seaweed, and kelp too, but this wasn’t either of those. 

You scooped up another fingerful. 

It certainly wasn’t  _ bad _ . You didn’t gag. It tickled the roof of your mouth in an odd way you couldn’t place.

You set it down on the arm of the couch. You’d decide your feelings on it later.

The door swung open again. You nearly fell over, realizing you hadn’t been listening for incoming footsteps. 

It wasn’t Lavender. Sans had pushed open the door with his slippered foot and let it slam behind him.

“hey kid.”

You whistled through your teeth, slapping at the couch. He smiled and fell backwards onto it next to you, eyes shutting immediately. 

You began to flap your hands, trying to find the words for what had just happened. The big thing had left, and Sans was here now to hear all about it. Why did you want to share this with him? Why was it so fun to chatter?

He nodded as you jabbered. You knew that you were saying nothing, but with each little string of sounds you made you got more and more excited. Sans continued to nod, occasionally humming or going “yup.” “uh-huh.” “absolutely.” 

You chittered, smiling widely. It was obvious there was no kind of communication, but he clearly didn’t mind your nonsense and you were happy.

He turned to look at you, and you saw his eyelights trail behind you. 

“what you don’t want breakfast?”

“Oatmeal.” You responded.

“i’ll have to test that for myself.”

He reached behind you and took the mug. He looked into it, and tsked.

“no wonder you weren’t interested. there’s a distinct lack of onions in here.”

“Ohnionss?”

He nodded. “can’t have oatmeal without onions.” He stood up. Somehow still postured like he was sitting. 

He set the mug down and opened the cold box besides the counter. Inside a light flickered on to your amazement.

“hmm. no onions.” He sighed, and grabbed a bottle from the shelf. “guess maple syrup will have to do.” 

He was still smiling, but there were no onions? He needed them, didn’t he? What even was he talking about??

“you look confused.” He shrugged, sitting back down next to you with an item in each hand. “y’see, my brother is a top notch chef.  _ real  _ pro. so i learned some tips and tricks from him. you wanna know what number one is?”

“One is?” You repeated.

He unscrewed the cap to the bottle. “food has no rules.” He turned the bottle upside down and dumped the entire bottle. 

You watched as the syrup chugged out, slowly, but still filling the small cup to its brim. He turned it back over and placed the cap on like it was completely normal. Which to be fair, you didn’t know it wasn’t.

He pulled a spoon out from his pocket. “then you stir.” He put the spoon into the cup and thrashed it around. Another stain was added to his shirt.

He pulled the spoon out and put it back in his pocket, still dripping.

The result was… very sticky looking. 

“here, try it now.” He handed you the cup and sank back into the couch. 

You stuck your fingers in again, and tried to scoop. It was colder now, like slime. After managing to tear your hand away, you put it against your tongue. 

Sweet! 

You took another scoopful. It was...nice? It was unlike any kind of taste before. It kind of made your mouth cramp up. But something drove you to eat more.

Sans chuckled at you stuck your entire hand in. “slow down, you’ll get a stomach ache. or so i’m told anyway.”

You grinned at him, knowing full well your chin was now a mess. He stuck his hand in his other pocket.

“here, something less sugary might even it out.”

He pulled out a small clear bag, and poured its contents into his hand. He offered you one.

You accepted the token in your non-sticky hand. Small, and hard. It looped in on itself, and was crusted with snowy crystals that stuck out at odd angles. You popped it in your mouth.

…

It was like… what was it like? It was so  _ familiar. _ Like you had tasted it a thousand times before.

“ya like the pretzel?”

“Petzle….” You mused, crunching into it. Had you had it before and just couldn’t remember? “Pretzel good.”

He smiled wider. “nice.”

Lavender opened the front door with a creak, a small cloth bundle in his arms. “OH HI SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” 

He opened his eyes halfway, the back of his head sinking deeper into the cushion. “just keeping bubbles company.”

“OH! WELL, THANK YOU!” He beamed, unfurling the bundle on the crowded counter top, exposing a group of objects you couldn’t identify. “I’M GLAD. I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE IF I WERE THEM.”

He paused, plucking the leafy bits out of their tops and tossing them aside. “ESPECIALLY IF THEY REALLY ARE FROM… SOMEWHERE ELSE.”

“yeahhh…” Sans said, watching the screen. “we should probably figure that out.”

“I MEAN, THEY DON’T SEEM TOO BOTHERED.”

“Petzel.” 

He turned to you. “what do you say?”

You stared blankly at him. He chuckled at his own joke. 

“say ‘pretzel please’.” 

You got it. “Pretzel peas.” 

“how about just a regular one, huh?”

He handed you a fistful. You immediately shoveled them in your mouth, enjoying the texture. Every crunch made you happy. 

“WELL. IT’S NOT LIKE THE NEXT TOWN WON’T BE ON THE RIVERFRONT. THEY’LL HAVE FISHERMEN, I’M SURE WE CAN GET SOMEONE TO BRING THEM TO THE OCEAN.” 

“that’s a good plan.”

Lavender began tearing the fruit apart with his fingers. “THANK YOU.” He flicked the juices off of his hands and opened a cupboard. “...WHICH BOWL DOES HE LIKE MORE AGAIN? BLACK OR GREY?”

“what about the glittery one?”

“I’LL GO WITH BLACK.”

Sans snickered, drooping against the couch at an odd angle. Something told you it wouldn’t have been very comfortable. But something also told you that Sans was a different kind of person, who was so lazy he wouldn’t even move to get more comfy.

Lavender reached down to the cabinet and pulled out another bowl, like squid ink. “DOES THAT SOUND NICE? GOING HOME?”

“back to the sand and fish and… what else is in the ocean?”

“WATER, I HOPE.”

“oh right water. that sound nice kid?”

Water! You liked water. You smiled. 

Sans smiled back. “then you can see your friends again.”

There was that word again. Red and Sans and Lavender, Edge maybe. Was he talking about them?

“Friends.” 

“YES! I BET THEY MISS YOU. HOWEVER YOU ENDED UP SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME MUST HAVE SCARED THEM. THEY‘RE PROBABLY LOOKING FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!”

You popped the last morsel into your mouth, letting the salt melt on your tongue before crunching it away. You nodded at whatever Lavender was saying. 

Your head snapped to the door facing away from Lavender at the counter. Something just outside of it was different. Your ears had long phased out the rustling of plants and cries of birds that never seemed to let up from outside, so it took you a moment to really understand what had changed. 

Steps, long and heavy, but swift. They crushed the plants that lined the ground. Through the small screened window besides the door you couldn’t see who it was, but even the tall misshapen shadow was enough to let you know exactly who was climbing the few steps to the entrance.

The door was pulled open with a long whine, and in he stepped. Every knick-knack rattled as the door slammed behind him on it’s own whim.

“WRETCHED MORNING EVERYONE.” He said. His attention turned to you. “WHY IS THE FISH ON THE FURNITURE?” No one responded.

You chittered at the familiar face.

Lavender turned to face him, ladling a heaping of the goop into the black bowl. “GOOD MORNING  **EDGELORD** .” He chirped.

“I WOULD  _ PREFER _ LORD EDGE, BUT-”

“Lord edd.” 

“SEE?” Edge huffed, turning his attention to you. “THIS THING GETS IT. THE FRY HAS MORE RESPECT FOR ME THAN YOU.”

“listen, just because we didn’t let you-”

Edge dramatically turned to you, interrupting and gesturing coldly at the two others. Lavender was busy sprinkling the shelf bottles into the bowl. “LET ME TELL YOU WHY I HAVE THE  _ ONLY NAME  _ THAT NOT A COLOR-!”

“hey we didn’t decide-”

“ _ APPARENTLY _ ,” He interrupted again. “” _ OBSIDIAN GREY _ ” DIDN’T FIT WITH THE “”THEME”” OF THE REST OF THEM ACCORDING TO THE SHORTER VERSION OF ME-”

“ _ was he wrong _ ?” Sans asked.

“ _ YES _ . AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY STARTED CALLING ME FISH?” He pushed his tattered scarf back over his shoulder indignantly. “ _ EDGY _ . THEN GOTH SOMEHOW, EVEN THOUGH I AM THE FARTHEST THING FROM IT.”

You heard Sans whisper something to himself. Something about Edge being a theater kid.

“-WHICH EVENTUALLY TURNED INTO JUST EDGE. SO INSTEAD OF THE CLASSY, FEAR INDUCING NAME, I’M RENDERED  _ HOPELESS- _ ”

“‘Opeless.” You repeated.

“- _ WITH THIS POOR EXCUSE OF A TITLE. _ ”

“HERE’S YOUR OATMEAL EDGE!” Lavender stepped in and offered the steaming bowl to him. “I CUT CHERRIES IN IT, YOU SEEMED TO LIKE IT LAST TIME!”

He seemed momentarily silenced, before taking the bowl quietly and sitting down on the couch next to Sans. He crossed his legs and looked away, eating his mush. He seemed to like it. 

“ _ ᵀᴴᴬᴺᴷ ʸᴼᵁ _ …” He muttered, pointed mouth full of fruit.

Lavender smiled. “OF COURSE!” 

...

“...SO IN SEASON SEVEN, THE ICONIC SHIRT HAD AROUND TEN PURPLE BUTTONS THAT CLASPED ON THE  _ LEFT  _ SIDE, BUT BY SEASON EIGHT IT WAS REPLACED BY A SHIRT THAT HAD ELEVEN BUTTONS THAT WERE A SHADE DARKER. EVER WONDER WHERE THE ORIGINAL SHIRT WENT? _ I  _ BOUGHT IT OFF THE SET!” 

“WOW!” Papyrus shouted over his bowl of oatmeal. “EDGE, YOU HAVE A SHIRT THAT  _ METTATON _ WORE?!” 

“NOT JUST ANY METTATON!” He responded, putting a hand to his chest. “THE _ BEST  _ METTATON.”

Sans was spooning oatmeal onto his teeth. “what happened to it? i haven’t seen you wearing a shirts with four arm holes lately.”

He scoffed. “I WOULD NEVER WEAR SUCH A PRIZED POSSESSION AROUND ANY OF YOU, FULL OFFENSE INTENDED.”

The oatmeal was dripping into his eyesocket. “that’s hurts, edge.” He wiped his face with his sleeve. “what did we ever do to you?”

“MY BROTHER IS OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW DRINKING PORRIDGE FROM A STRAW. SOMETHING HE ONLY STARTED DOING AFTER HE MET  _ YOU _ .”

“WE KNOW.” Lavender smiled, scrubbing a dish. “WE WERE HERE WHEN YOU KICKED HIM OUT!”

“Infur-ieating, Red.” You hummed.

Sans chuckled. “look edge they’re picking up whole sentences now.”

You glanced over to the window. Red loudly drank from his bowl. Despite the glass he was incredibly audible. 

Papyrus sighed. “THE DAY OFF WAS NICE, BUT WE HAVE A LONG DRIVE AHEAD OF US. WE SHOULD PACK EVERYTHING UP BEFORE I FORGET.”

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE ALREADY PACKED.” Lavender said. 

Papyrus nyehed in despair. “YES, BUT I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING! WHAT IF I TOOK OFF A SANDEL AT SOME POINT AND NEVER PUT IT BACK ON?? WHAT WOULD I DO THEN, BUY ANOTHER?” He paused, putting a finger to his chin. “YES, I PROBABLY WOULD.  _ IN FACT I HAVE BEEN NEEDING A NEW PAIR SINCE THAT RUN IN WITH THAT DOG _ -”

Sans stood up and stretched. “yeah, i should probably start folding my sheets myself.” He walked to the door.

“DON’T LIE, YOU DON’T OWN SHEETS.” Papyrus called after him as he disappeared. Edge then stood up as well.

“I NEED TO GO... _ PACK AS WELL _ .” 

He pushed open the door just as it was about to close on him. 

Lavender collected his bowl and brought it over to the sink.  _ “DOES HE REALLY NEED TO PACK AGAIN?” _

Papyrus shook his hand dismissively. “NO, NO. I BELIEVE THAT WAS CODE FOR IRONING HIS LEATHER JACKETS.” He stood up and handed the taller skeleton his bowl. “I ALSO NEED TO “PACK” BUT NOT IN THE CODE WAY.”

Lavender nodded. “HAVE FUN!”

Papyrus began to leave. You sat up and threw yourself onto the arm closest to the door. He stopped and looked at you.

“WHAT? DO YOU WANT TO COME?” 

You cooed and smacked at the couch. He looked to Lavender. 

“WOULD...THAT BE OKAY?”

Lavender smiled. “OF COURSE, THEY DON’T NEED TO BE IN THE TUB ANYMORE, THEY CAN GO ANYWHERE!” 

Papyrus crouched down. “YOU HEARD THE PURPLE! LET ME JUST-” He scooped you up, one arm under your shoulders and the other under a bend in your tail. 

He had to kick the door open with you taking up his arm space, but he managed and stepped across the threshold.

“COME ON, YOU NEED SOME SUNSHINE!”

“...”

Trees. So many they blended into one another. How close had you been to them before? 

The door creaked shut. Every sound was clearer than you could have thought it would be. The world suddenly wasn’t disconnected. Papyrus stepped down. A leg, a step down, then the other, then he was standing on the ground. It was softer than the steps.

The smell was overwhelming. The same bittersweet in the air, the taste of dirt on your tongue. You inhaled. 

It was warm. 

The grass never stopped moving. Each blade seemed to twitch without warning. The ground was alive with  _ things _ . 

The leaves above you in the trees took a shushed breath. You looked up in surprise. That was what made that noise? You had always heard it, but had never been so close that you put it together. 

“NYEH!” Papyrus held you out before him by your armpits. “LOOK AT THAT EXPRESSION! I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU OUTSIDE BEFORE!”

Even his pearly smile seemed brighter. You chittered in agreement.

He returned you to the original position in his arms, and walked away from Lavenders home. You looked around. Did they all live here? You were surrounded by the same boxy shapes on wheels. The only distinct difference being the curtains in the windows. Or sometimes, lack thereof.

One of the boxes doors opened noisily, and out stepped Red. You grabbed Papyrus around his forehead to push yourself over his shoulder. 

“Red!” 

He jumped in surprise. When he finally seemed to locate the source of your voice, he relaxed. 

“oh, hey fish. how’s the weather up there?”

You laughed. Out of happiness more than any understanding of the joke.

He rolled his eyelights. “anyway. uh, what time are we leaving today?”

Papyrus smiled politely. “AROUND SIX.”

“ah, cool.” 

Red began to leave, but Papyrus stepped closer and coughed loudly. He quirked a brow bone, and put a free hand on his hip while propping you up awkwardly in the other.

“oh, uh…” Red cleared his throat. “y’know. thanks, or, whatever...”

“ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP!”

...

You laughed and stretched out your arms out to the sky. His hands quickly shifted underneath your weight, and you realized all too late that in the air, you could not move up and down as easily as left and right.

You tumbled down, bumping your shoulder on the Papyrus’s head. But either he was already prepared to catch you, or had faster flexes than you had thought, as you landed easily in his arms with a confusing feeling in your head and a clanking of bone.

“BE CAREFUL, YOU CAN’T JUST FLOAT UPWARDS LIKE YOU CAN IN WATER!”

You cooed.

“I KNOW,” He sighed. “IT’S TRULY DISAPPOINTING.”

You gripped onto his collar bones, trying to propel yourself forward. Once again, you could not, and instead almost fell.

“why’re they so wiggly?” Red asked, noisily drinking his Oatmeal.

Papyrus tossed your forward, catching you in the crooks of his elbows. He spun around. You giggled and looked forward, happily watching the world breeze by you. 

“IT IS THE FIRST TIME THEY’VE HAD FREE REIGN IN AT LEAST A DAY.” He jolted to a stop and began spinning you the other way. Your towel came loose around your neck and spun too. “THEY PROBABLY JUST HAVE A LOT OF ENERGY.”

Sans peeked around the edge of Lavender's little home. “hey bro.”

He stopped, you were still laughing uncontrollably. “SANS! DID YOU CALL THE STORE AHEAD?”

“yup.”

“PEANUTS  _ AND _ POPCORN KERNELS?”

“yup.”

“WHAT ABOUT THE FROZEN HOTDOGS?”

“yup.”

“WHITE SUGAR FOR LAVENDER?”

“twelve sacks.”

Papyrus smiled brightly and tossed you high in the air. For a moment you were weightless, before plummeting back into his boney arms in a fit of bubbles. 

“GREAT! I THINK WE’RE ALREADY FOR THE SHOW TOMORROW!”

“UH, SANS?”

Lavender had rushed over, clearly distressed. 

Sans nodded to himself. “oh right. a seagull flew into your window.”

“WHAT-” He nearly dropped you. “UH!” He paused. “...SOMEONE TAKE THEM TO THAT LITTLE POND IN THE WOODS!” He turned quickly, searching for someone. “RED!”

Red looked up from trying to suck up the remnants of his oatmeal through his straw. “eh?”

Papyrus ran to him in one stride, dumping you into Reds confused arms. “THE POND. THEY NEED....POND WATER. BYE!”

Without another word, the two taller skeletons sprinted off, Sans trailing them lazily. You looked to Red. When he held you you were much closer to the ground. 

He made direct eye contact. “...so.”

“So.” 

“how’re we gonna do this?”

“Do vis?”

He hoisted you up, and walked a few steps. He was pretty wobbly, and the tip of your tail was brushing the blades of grass. 

“nope this isn’t gonna work.”

He shifted you to one arm.

“uh, don’t scream.”

Suddenly you felt yourself being pulled up. You strained your neck down. It was like being underwater, but the air was still as crisp and clean as ever. Everything around seemed to be cast in a bright shadow. It matched Reds eyelights. 

You didn’t mind. It felt like home, but more weightless. More glowy.

Your senses took over and you spun over happily, your belly facing the sky. You whistled down at Red, who was looking amused.

“alright, get back here guppy.”

The invisible water was gone, and you fell back into his grasp. But this time your stomach was thrown onto his shoulder. You made a sound of discontent.

“sorry, musta let you go too fast.” He paused as you adjusted yourself. Your faces were close together, and if you looked at his eyesocket just right you could see into his skull. “unless you really _ fell f _ or me that easily.”

You didn’t respond, fussing with the tufts on his hood. 

“huh. that joke really fell flat.”

You smushed your face into it. Soft and had the scent of those strange metal cans tourists left on the beach. 

He shrugged, you smiled without meaning to. “yeah, same joke twice. not exactly my best work. but it’s not like you care, right?”

“Care, right?”

He chuckled to himself. His one different colored tooth reflecting for a moment in the sun. You could see him up close for the first time. His face was lined with small scratches and indents, especially around his mouth and eyes.

He was silent a minute, trudging along. He had one hand over the small of your back, where your scales shifted into skin, to hold you up, but your tail still dangled pathetically behind you. 

“i don’t know why i’m still trying with you as my audience. guess my standards really  _ dropped _ in quality.”

Clearly something meaningful was being said. His voice always changed in infliction once. He wanted a response, what could you do?

You stared him in the eye. Unwavering. You tried not to blink to show that you were listening.

He almost immediately looked away. 

“y’know that fear people have of telling a joke and nobody laughing? i feel like you’d really shine in those peoples nightmares.”

You stuck out your tongue. He cackled, making the both of you shake. 

...

You looked forward, suddenly hearing a splash. The air was thick and humid, like an especially hot day back home. 

He had carried you away from the camp into the trees, along a dirt path you felt he didn’t exactly know either. The sound of water became clearer and clearer with each step.

Red seemed to feel your excitement. “what, do you just know when there's water or something? some kinda sixth sense?”

You pushed against his shoulder and chittered. It echoed around, and somewhere above you birds flew away. 

“alright i get it, you're excited!” He laughed, pulling at your arms and making you flop back down. “no pushing, that’s what’ll get you into a fight.”

“Innew a fight.” 

“yup. and unless you’ve got another layer of teeth hidden somewhere i wouldn’t suggest it.”

You perked up. You knew this! 

“Teeth!” You opened your mouth wide and pointed them out. Sharp, jagged in the back, and plenty of them. Once in a while one would disappear, after you bit down too hard on a sturdy new fishing line or swm head first into a rock because you weren’t using your eyes. But they never seemed to be gone long. 

“wow okay you have two rows of teeth, good to know.” He looked incredulously into your mouth. “what the hell messed you up so bad then? i wanna meet the guy who looked you in the mouth and didn’t immediately give up.”

You laughed. Communication! Words were spoken back and forth, and you could nearly understand them. Mouth, teeth, bad, good. You knew this!

He was quiet. You had slowed, but still were heading in one path. 

“...do you even know what’s goin’ on?”

He paused. You looked up, watching a blurry bird hop back and forth on an equally blurry branch. 

“i can’t imagine what it’s like to be around all of us, not understanding a single word.”

The bird took off without warning, and disappeared from view. The tree didn’t seem less empty without it though.

“if i were in your situation, i’d want some kind of explanation.”

His feet crunched on the path. It was mostly dull colored dirt, but the edges were sprinkled with twigs and leaves and other various things that you couldn’t name.

He cleared his throat. You looked back at him. 

“...so we have this show that we do.”

You returned your gaze to the birdless tree, but could no longer find it.

“nothing too big. just little acts under a big tent we bought, magic and puzzles. all that shit.” You rested your arm against his fuzzy hood thing. “we have it to make some money. we all agreed, well most of us, to use the summer to travel up and around the river to collect enough money for… well, you probably wouldn’t get why, but we need money to make it.”

You hummed. He seemed happy to receive the approval.

“thats, y’know, the reason why we can’t bring you back right away. it takes awhile to get to the ocean from here unless you got a boat, and if we took you now it would throw off our whole schedule.”

You liked listening to Red explain. He sounded sincere, and though it wasn’t all clear you could somewhat understand bits of what he was saying. 

“is that all good, kid?”

You hummed again. “Red good.”

He made a strange sound, then shook his head. “you crack me up, guppy. real stand-up comedian.” He laughed at his own words, looking straight ahead. You turned your attention back to the path. 

“almost there. then i can catch up on sleep.”

Through the plants you spied a difference in the ground. The light reflected off of it, like metal left in the sand. 

Red pulled you through a wall of staulks, his steps getting wetter. The shimmering ground came better into view, and you realized that was not different colored dirt, but instead a small expanse of water. 

You gasped, immediately chattering in Reds face. He pulled you off of his shoulder by your armpits, your tailfin completely touching the muddy ground. “ _ i get it _ , you like water. now, i’m gonna drop you in, and if you die, don’t. i’ll be in the shade.”

With one big heave, you fell out of his hands and into the shallow water. It was still basically the shore, like slightly wetter mucus, but it was enough for you to claw through the muck and finally swim deeper.

Ohoho.

Now  _ this _ , 

this was where you needed to be. 

Warm and thick and foggy, you darted everywhere. Not watching, not caring about the little croaks you heard from below. The light dribbled in through the filth that coated the surface, creating little dollar patches of sun.

You smiled, and it flowed into your mouth. It was disgusting. Everytime you moved it was like you were kicking up more and more dirt and grime into your own path. You didn’t mind at all. 

The place was  _ small _ . You swam around the border several times before realizing it was a big loop. It was amazing just how little water there was. You hardly had to try to find the bottom. But it wasn’t disappointing. The ground was soft and fleshy, slimy against your arm when you inevitably rolled around in it. Peppered with little hard mollusks and what you could only assume were bones. It got heavy though, and you had to really shake to get all the clumps off. Someone could very easily get stuck in there.

You didn’t have to think to know you couldn’t breath here. Just like the tub water, it smelled strange, tasted strange and was far too hot. Despite how much you wanted to stay down below to hunt for little nothings, you swam up for air. 

When you reached the surface, you looked all around. Surrounded by the tall, stalky plants. The air was practically ringing with the amount of bugs around you. Looking up you could see the clear milky sky between the branches.

An insect skittered by you, not flying but somehow not breaking the surface tension. Everything was a putrid golden brown, and it was mesmerizing.

You gasped one final breath and practically flew back under. You smacked into the muddy walls so many times your face was sore. You dug at the sticky floor, watching it cling to itself in the open water like syrupy oatmeal before landing back down with a slimy plop. 

You swam laps again, tracing your finger in the walls and digging deeper each round. Something darted by you. 

You turned to look, but found nothing. 

Something was alive in here. Clearly, this entire pond practically was alive. 

But something in you was...curious. What kind of fish would be here? Would you recognize it, or would it be something terrible and scary that would make you it’s snack? 

You  _ definitely _ wanted to find out.

You swam, slowly. Back and forth, pausing to let yourself drift, eyeing everything below you. 

The mucky floor twitched.

Your gaze locked onto...onto something. It had moved, you saw it. You flicked your tail.

A piece of the mud dashed away into the grainy nothingness. You sped after it, following it with intent.

It was definitely less terrifying than you had guessed, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t strange. It swam quick, but didn’t seem to have any kind of tail. You could grab it it one hand, if you could just catch the thing.

It swerved, and sent you crashing into the mud.

You swiped it all away, catching just a glimpse of one long, rubbery leg slip out.

You swam to the surface, watching it leap from one mud puddle to another, sounding victoriously. It jumped very far, it’s bulbous dark eyes looking back at you.

It slowed, letting itself rest now that it was safe on the land.

Pathetic.

You pushed yourself upwards and slammed into the ground so hard it hurt, clawing at the dirt to grab at the thing.

It slipped out of your fingers and hopped across the dirt to the trees, croaking madly.

You had already put in so much effort. You didn’t want to lose the little thing.

Despite how welcoming the dirt water was, you wanted to chase.

Just another drag. What could it hurt? You were already out of the water. It was never said you had to stay.

Well, it was definitely possible someone  _ had  _ said it, but that wasn’t your problem.

You grabbed at the dirt and pulled. It was a bit harder to travel on grass and twigs and rocks than the floor at Lavenders, but you were determined. 

The slippery thing hopped away just as you reached out to it. You huffed and tried to approach it slowly. But just as you tried to pounce it escaped again, leaving you with a faceful of dirt.

Again and again. Maybe the thing learned to stop pausing, because eventually you were just pulling yourself after it as it continued to speed towards it’s unknown goal. The ground was much more painful than you thought. It made you thankful that at least in the water you could travel above it. 

If you were in water, this thing would have been as good as eaten by now.

It croaked and made off between a row of pale flowers. You paused to breath in the sweet air, considering if this was worth it. You would dry again, no matter how muddy the ground was in spots. You reach forward to pull open the curtain of flowers. They itched your skin.

So. The thing wasn’t just hopping around for shelter. There was another pond in the middle of all of this wood.

It was a bit smaller than the other, and was even visibly muckier. But it was water nonetheless. 

On the edge you spied a corner of something man made, though you didn’t know what it was. You crawled to the water's edge and slipped it the best you could. Maybe this was close to the camp. 

You swam around, hearing the ribbits and croaks just like in the last pool, but it was so murky you gave up on the creature immediately. 

You swam to the bottom and dug. Just like the other it was the same disgusting texture, thankfully. It was wonderful, and you got right back to digging like it was the same pond from before.

You removed glob after glob and added it to a little mountain. You lined the base with whatever rocks you could find. 

You added one last glob before going up for air. You breached the surface and gasped for air before going back down. But not before spying a huge mass standing silently along the trees. Staring.

Well. 

You abandoned the mountain. Time to consider.

It was big, but you hadn’t seen much else. Just based on everyone else you had interacted with, it was probably a skeleton of sorts. Though not one you had met yet. It had the same glowing features. The same color as Reds eyelights, but only one. 

Although every sane fiber of your being knew that it’s stance, watching you of all things, was probably not very friendly. But… Well if worse came to worst you knew you could speed crawl away.

Aaaand you needed air again.

You readied yourself, and slowly came up to the surface. 

You glanced around. It wasn’t in the same spot you had seen it. You turned, scanning the line of trees all around the pond.

It was right besides you. 

You jolted back. It did too, staring at you curiously and with a very confused expression. 

One eyelight, you were right. Unlike all of the others, it had one working eyelight. The other eyesocket seemed… broken, to say the least. 

It took you a second of looking to fully comprehend what you were seeing on this skeleton's skull.

It was cracked brutally on one side. Jagged and yellowed remains stilled curved with its shape, like it has been sliced out. Just looking at the thickness of it’s skull and just how much the wound had messed up its owner, you could practically  _ hear  _ the deafening crunch it must have made.

Massive, but standing straight. This wasn’t big the way Lavender was. Lavender was tall, but slender. This thing was tall, not to Lavenders height though. But it was also broad. It could take a hit. 

“...” They looked down at you. You stared back, the ball of light in his eyesocket flickered. 

They gestured with their one free hand to the water. They were trying to shoo you away. You didn’t break the staring contest, you were too curious. 

“...?”

You chirped. The second you did mud slipped into your mouth. You rose your mouth above the surface and gagged, taking in a breath of the warm air. 

“Bad water.” You huffed, still tasting the individual grains of sand in your cheeks. What you needed was normal water. You’d even take the weird flat tub water you had spent the night in. It was still staring. You pushed against the mushy shore line, raising yourself up towards the sky and towards the giant. 

“Water.” 

You wished you knew more words.

It glanced away, then back at you. You patted at the mud. 

“Water. Good. Good water.  _ Water _ !” 

Somehow you felt you weren’t quite coherent. 

There was a moment of silence, where it just kept looking at you with an unreadable expression. 

It slowly lowered itself down, like it’s joints were stiff. It gestured at the water with it’s one massive palm. 

“Water.” You repeated.

They took it a step further and gently tapped the surface, watching your reaction. 

You stared at the ripples it caused, trying to form words you didn’t even fully understand. It was frustrating. What were they trying to say, and how were you supposed to respond?

They seemed to understand your confusion. For a moment, you both just looked at the spot they had touched. Then in sync you both looked to each other. You exhaled through your nose, digging your fingers into the mud and thinking. 

You couldn’t talk.

But he couldn’t either. 

Perhaps this was an opportunity.

You took a breath and went back under. You grabbed a chunk of blobby mud and resurfaced, rubbing it in your hair. It stuck, and as you raked your fingers across your scalp you could feel the little grains digging into your skin.

You made eye contact with him and made a face. He was watching, clearly with no idea what was going on. 

You extended your hand. He moved back slightly. You motioned for him to stop, and he froze, watching your wrist flap. He looked from your hand to your eyes, double checking. 

He very, very, slowly sat down, still watching you. Like he thought you would swim away if he moved too quickly. One you two were at nearly the same level, he looked to your open hand again. 

You smiled and wiggled your fingers. He was cautious, it was understandable. You wouldn’t let that stop you from another companion. No matter how long you hand to wait for your crunchy, melted hair to get help.

He gently placed his hand over yours. It swallowed yours in comparison. Yours were made to dig, and hold lots of things. At least from what you gathered in your normal life. What were his hands made for?

You copied his speed and took his hand, turning it around so his bone palm faced the sky. You pushed his fingers gently, to cup them. He followed your silent instructions.

Slowly, to not alarm him, you pulled his cupped hand down slightly. When the water lapped at his knuckles he tensed, but allowed you to continue. 

You lowered it more, until the water reached his wrist. His hand looked frozen, clouded in the dingy pool. You backed up slightly, letting it go. You held your arms up high, clicking your tongue loudly and hearing it echo all around you through the buzzing insects. 

He copied you instantly, and the cupped hand came flying out of the water. It drippled steadily out despite your efforts to make it a proper cup. You learned down under the stream, letting the poor water wash through your hair. After a moment of thought, he poured the remaining water down onto your muddy head.

You looked up and grinned widely, pointing at the pond. He understood. 

He reached down for another cup of water, and poured it over you. Then another, and another. You added to the water by tearing the mud out with your fingers. After a minute he stopped, staring at your hair. 

It was all coming together. The water was dirty, and so it didn’t clean you. 

Communication, without a single word. It probably could have been done better, but it was clear that he  _ understood _ . 

He sat in quiet understanding. Suddenly he got to his feet, and turned away from you.

You slammed into the edge, slapping the wet mud.

He looked back and held up a finger. His eyelight seemed a little bigger.

You watched as he disappeared into the trees, listening to his heavy footsteps even as he was out of sight. 

For a moment you took a blade of grass from the sludgy ground and bent it. Surprisingly it didn’t break. 

Fascinating!

You wanted to go back under. You really had no reason to wait, although it seemed like he wanted you to. But something made you stay above the surface, picking little clumps of mud from your hair. 

You could still hear him, he reached a destination, and was pushing something aside. Reaching for something. 

Quickly, he hurried back. His footsteps sounded almost excited. 

He cleared the brush with something in his hands sloshing water.

On slower inspection, after realizing his eyelight was now massive in delight, what he was carrying was a plastic fish. It was large and curved, and its mouth was parted almost aggressively. From the mouth you could see inside, where it was filled to the brim with water. It smelled clean.

You pushed back. Whatever unspoken language you two had just formed was working perfectly, and you immediately understood.

He tilted it down, and water poured from the fish's mouth. You rocketed upwards to catch as much of it as you could on your face, bubbling happily.

Behind the cold, clear downpour he put his chin on his hand and watched you intently. 

He set down the device besides him. You were clean now, at least from the neck up,and even more eager to be near this new skeleton.

He just sat there, watching you. He didn’t seem to have any plans on what he wanted. He was just waiting for you to lead.

How polite! It excited you. What  _ did _ you want to do? Just being near people was fun enough.

You dove under the disgusting water again, then emerged smiling even wider. He reached for the device, and again you were met with a shower of cool water.

It was a game. You repeated the action, again and again. Until it was just you bobbing up and down on the surface at getting hit in the face by a constant stream. 

Eventually, the fish was upside down, and the stream turned into sporadic raindrops. He shook it just to knock the last drops loose, and it was done. 

You smiled at him. Surprisingly, after a moment, his mouth twitched upwards. His teeth were just as sharp as yours.

He grabbed at his shoes, and pulled them off. He rolled up his pants, and lowered his legs into the water. You chittered. He nodded.

You put an arm on his solid leg, just to give your core a rest from keeping yourself steady. 

The air was far from silent. And yet not a word was spoken in the comfortability. 

…

Red frantically walked around the length of the pond again, the sound of the rustling weeds unnerving him now. The water peacefully remained unchanged. That was the problem.

He has  _ seen _ you come up for air a couple times, this dingy little pond was the farthest thing from salt water. You couldn’t breathe there, you  _ physically _ couldn’t.

Why hadn’t you come up in so long?

What was he supposed to do?? He could feel beads of sweat forming at the base of his skull. 

He stopped his endless circling, then started again, muttering nothing to himself. Could there have been something bad down there? Had you gotten tangled in garbage? God knows humans weren’t exactly good at stopping things like you from doing that. Had you gotten bitten by some poisonous bug you thought was normal? How would  _ you _ have known it was bad??

Suddenly the water moved. He jumped back, still on thoughts of murderous pond creatures. 

Ripples. Small, but noticeable. 

He watched cautiously, but turned around when he heard a laugh from beyond the trees.

_ What?! _

Where were you?? The pond was forgotten. He pushed onto the path, looking everywhere he had before not even considered. 

He elbowed his way through the thick brush, following where he had heard you. Every way he looked was just green and brown, and yet no bright red tail to be found.

Eventually though he stumbled through a line of prickly white flowers, and saw a glimpse of shining scales in murky water.

Another pond. Much smaller, and much more hidden than the other. In the trees was the recognizable headlight of a truck.

And to match, sitting just ahead with his back turned was the owner. Feet in the water, curled over with a watering can sat besides him. 

Purring.

He must have known Red was there. He wasn’t exactly sneaking. But he either was ignoring his presence, or was too invested in the thing on his lap. 

Probably both.

So. You had snuck off and found the muscle of the team. Nearly giving Red a heart attack while doing it. 

He should have said something. To you or to him. But...nothing came. He just...turned and followed the path back. You would find a way back with the help of your new ”friend”. 

He sighed. This was probably good material for a joke. The one who could barely talk and ignored any advances buddies up with the talkative, but incoherent newbie. 

At least he could go get some more food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH
> 
> I am alive, I am well. This took awhile. My bad.
> 
> Found family is the only dynamic i do well. Expect more of this. 
> 
> Also Horrortale sans was wearing crocs. This is my canon, i can make him wear whatever i want. And he is wearing red crocs his brother got him.


	6. Just a little trip.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe a quick trip to a restaurant soon?

They came from the ocean

This wild thing from the sea.

Their hair flowing southwards

They snarled at me.

A loyal family at their side

With fangs and a throaty sing

The never ending hunger,

From this fish tailed thing.

They brought me a coin, 

From years long ago,

They had saved it for some reason,

They didn’t quite know.

And I gave them a beaker, cracked, and dripping.

They treated it like it was gold.

(the ink is smudged from water. Other various drops scatter the page)

The king demanded my service and i followed his command

The humans had waged war

And you couldn’t understand.

You had no place.

You couldn’t fight, couldn’t stop

And even if you could

Would you fight for your bottom half, or your top?

I cried. You knocked your forehead to mine.

And before I knew it I was gone, with only the faint scent of salt in my mind. 

...

  
  
  


And I sit here, and I think. 

Would I ever be free?

Would I ever see my old friend, half person, and half me?

…

The short skeleton glanced out the window, to the never ending snow that always blew. The only light from a dim, muted tv screen. His brother yelled somewhere in the limited outside. 

He had read over those few files hundreds of times. Equations, and scraps of blueprints. Then… this. It was clearly supposed to be a personal thing. He had never seen anything even remotely like it before the incident. He had finally broken the wax seal and read it over, out of desperation.

His eyes glazed over the writing, familiar symbols. It was quick, and smudged even in some places. Much different from the rest of his penmanship. That along with the….sub-par poetry was certainly jarring to read alongside his thermonuclear/eccentricity calculations.

A sigh crept through his clenched teeth. 

“who knew dad was so imaginative?”

...

  
  


“GO ON. ASK WHERE WE’RE GOING!”

You hesitated. 

“GO ON, I INSIST!”

“...Go- _ inn _ .” 

Papyrus clapped his hands against the wheel excitedly and looked back at you like a tourist at the sunset.

“Hey  _ hey _ watch the road- watch tHE ROAD-”

“SANS SHUT UP, HE IS.”

“THANK YOU EDGE!I KNEW CHOOSING YOU TO BE IN THE FRONT SEAT WAS A GOOD IDEA! ALSO PLEASE DON’T YELL AT MY BROTHER!”

“NOT THAT SANS IDIOT-”

You were sitting slumped over, your new moistened towel strung around your neck the same way Edge had his aggressively torn scarf around his. Red had done it for you, and you vaguely wondered if he had done it that way on purpose. 

The entire vehicle hummed along. A large, brightly painted box that had a few rows of plush seats. Despite the space, everyone beyond the first row that sat under the great glass windshield was crammed together, with hardly enough space for them all to sit together.

When you had awoken, no longer on lap of the strange beast you had taken a liking to, Lavender had been trying to gently lay you on the couch again. But you were awake and excited, so he had to continue to carry you. You had gotten used to not moving on your own accord, and hadn’t even tried to struggle out of his grip. It was relaxing.

Apparently things were happening. 

People were moving. The sun had shifted across the sky, and the world had been overcast in tinged grey. 

Everything had smelled like water. Not like home, just like water, in its purest form. But it intermingled with everything else, the dry dust, the vague sweetness of every skeleton wandering around, still wafting with oatmeal and fruit, and the grass that always seemed to move like every blade was twitching in its roots. 

You had mentioned it. Lavender had carried you around, as gently as a mother whale would nudge her calf away from the harsh currents. And you had tried to make conversation.

“Water.”

He looked down at you. He had been running a damp cloth over the outside of his home on wheels. “Dusting” he had called it. “The normal kind, not the...other kind.” Then he had fallen off his sentence. So quiet, so timid. 

“WATER? DO YOU NEED MORE WATER, LITTLE COVE?”

“Covvvve.” You cooed. Sounded sweet. Maybe it was just his large presence, and the warmth that seemed to emanate from every scratch in his bones. You had always wanted company, but even you could see that you had gotten very close very quickly. Not that he seemed to mind.

You reached up and tapped under your nostrils. That where the scents happened, right? 

“NOSE?” He asked. “SMELL? DO YOU SMELL SOMETHING?”

“Water.” You tapped again. “Smell? Smell.”

He suddenly laughed. It was a fluttering laugh, lighter than Reds but still held the same joy. Pretty laugh. 

He looked from you to the sky. “I WAS JUST THINKING IT WAS ABOUT TO RAIN. CAN YOU SMELL IT?”

“Smell rain.”

“...” He paused, a small smile on his crooked face. “WHEN….WHEN WE FIRST CAME TO THE SURFACE, I THOUGHT THE WORLD SMELLED DIFFERENT WHEN IT WAS ABOUT TO RAIN. BUT NO ONE ELSE MENTIONED IT. SO I WASN’T SURE.”

“I GUESS WHEN YOU’RE EXCITED, YOU NOTICE EVERYTHING.” You couldn’t help but giggle. You leaned back, your entire body basically just laying along the length of his forearm. “IT’S NICE SEEING THAT KIND OF...ATTENTION, AT THE WORLD. WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT WAS ALL WITHHELD FROM YOU UNTIL NOW.”

After one last swipe, handed you the dusting cloth. After a tentative sniff, you balled it up and shoved it in the plastic bag that he had hung from your tail.

“IT TRULY IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE SOMEONE NEW AROUND HERE, EVEN IF YOU WILL BE GOING SOON. I’M SURE MY BROTHER AGREES.” He laughed again. Warm. “WE’LL HAVE TO VISIT THE OCEAN SOMEDAY. MAYBE AFTER THE BIG TRIP, WE WILL BE RIGHT BY THE COAST THEN ANYWAYS.”

“...THOUGH, I STILL WISH YOU COULD BE THERE TO SEE IT. MY BROTHER AND I MAKE FOOD, CUSTOMERS COME IN, EDGE AND PAPYRUS ARE THE RINGLEADERS BUT THEY DO TRICKS AS WELL. THIS WILL ONLY BE OUR...OUR FOURTH SHOW, THIS TUESDAY, BUT I STILL THINK YOU’D LIKE IT.”

You nodded. Whatever he was saying, you agreed.

“yo.”

Lavender, and in turn you, swiveled around to see Sans. At your new height you could reach over and pat Sans' skull. Which you did.

Sans did nothing to stop you. “we’re going to mcdonalds, and were wondering if you or the guppy would want to come along.”

“AH! I DON’T THINK I’M FEELING UP TO ANOTHER CAR RIDE. BUT I’M SURE THE LITTLE SELKIE WOULD LIKE SOME MORE FOOD!”

“is that what we’re calling the shrimp now?”

“I FIGURED IT WAS FITTING. THEY’RE LIKE A SELKIE, HALFWAY THROUGH TAKING OFF THEIR ANIMAL SKIN AND TURNING INTO A HUMAN.”

Sans sighed. “yeah.. that’s uh, something. cute. i guess.” Suddenly a familiar buzz surrounded you. For just a moment, weightless and ears full of noise, you thought you were back home. But when you heard the continuing crickets and flipped to see the pair beneath you, you remembered what had happened earlier. So, this was a normal thing for skeletons to do. 

The air wasn’t the color of blood this time though. It was more like a translucent sky. Well, a clear sky. Today the sky looked like it had been sucked of all of its color. The color of the rings on the small golden octopuses you used to try and catch. Calming, even though it was so still it couldn’t ever have passed for the waves.

You squeaked. No longer in Lavenders arms, you just twirled around, enjoying the momentary suspension. 

Sans looked up at you, and for a moment something flashed over his face. A way you hadn't seen him like before. Disgust. 

You froze. Not happy, Sans. Not happy. With me.

He didn’t know you had seen, because he then immediately smiled. If you hadn’t seen his previous expression, you’d think he was happy to see you. 

He didn’t set you on his shoulder like Red had. He just kept you aloft. While you were happy to be free, you were confused. And before you knew it, you arrived at a large, stormy colored van packed with other skeletons. You were dropped into a seat next to Papyrus just as the sky started to drizzle.

“alright. let’s go.” He said, not looking at you. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for so long, I nearly died a few times and that kinda took a lot of my energy away. This was originally spposed to be the entire trip, but i'm splitting it into two chapters because I need to put SOMETHING up. 
> 
> Thanks for understanding babes ojbjijhbuiohvg vhuih

**Author's Note:**

> Skeletons and Scales. How quaint.
> 
> Wanna follow my tumblr? https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacketbones


End file.
